a L e x a n D e r c h u a n g
Managing director ,
l aunch acadeMy
age: 26
the story: When the class average in
Alexander Chuang's third-year
UBC biology
class unexpectedly crept upward, his profes-
sor became suspicious; after a warning email,
Chuang ceased his early foray into selling
notes. Six years and one acquired company
later, Chuang has moved on to preaching that
entrepreneurial zeal in his role as managing
director of Launch Academy, a Vancouver
co-working space for startups. Chuang knows
startup life well. He went through each stage,
from schmoozing investors to tweaking
software to hammering out a revenue model,
when he founded Weeve.it, which bills itself
as a "kickstarter for nonprofits," at age 23.
After Weeve.it was acquired for an undisclosed
sum, Chuang moved on to Launch Academy,
where he has put his own lessons to work.
Markers oF success: Under Chuang's
tenure, Launch Academy has helped 225
companies establish themselves and has
increased the organization's revenues from
$2,500 to $45,000 a month. Its portfolio
companies, which pay fees as Launch
Academy members, have raised a total of
$28 million from investors.
—J.P.
3
0
u
3
0
FroM leFt:
alexander
chuang, trev
styan, nicolas
hipperson
38 BCBusiness april 2015
Best aDvice i've
ever receiveD
"It's from my dad,
who explained to
me the difference
between zero and
one. One is your
health and zero
is everything else
(family, career,
lifestyle)"
