Today's Entrepreneur: Richard Kang

Sylvie Leotin · April 13, 2011 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/1927

No. 1 mistake: not building the right team

Vator is the home to entrepreneurs who embrace their passion and follow their dreams.

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We are engineers, scientists, artists, historians and business majors; men and women, all burned by the same passion for entrepreneurship.


Today's Entrepreneur is Richard Kang, founder and CEO of Wipit, a mobile payment startup in Los Angeles. Richard always knew he wanted to start a company, but didn't know it was going to be so soon. Last year the stars lined up: a gripping idea, a seasoned team, and funding all came together in a matter of months.He turned down a prestigious offer and decided to focus on building wipit. He is excited about the opportunity, and grateful to be able to work with a great team of co-founders and advisors he has known from the past. His enthusiam is contagious. In his spare time, he practices martial arts (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) for balance. 

I am an: Entrepreneur

Name companies you've founded or co-founded: wipit

Name startups you worked for: Eureka Revenue Inc. (Eureka!)

If you are an entrepreneur, why? I want to change the world.

List your favorite startups: Charity Water, Square, Tom's Shoes

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation? Entrepreneurship offers a unique opportunity and platform to participate in "changing the world". Incredible entrepreneurial companies such as YouTube or Groupon were revolutionary in their own right, and will forever have left an imprint on society. Incredible social entrepreneurs such as the founders of Charity Water or Tom's Shoes are effecting peoples lives all around the world. They effect the lives of those they help, but also all of the normal people look you and I that they've been able to include in the greater story.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make? I believe the key factor to success and failure for an entrepreneur is his/her ability to build the right team.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur? 1) Surround yourself with the right team. They're the key to success!  2) Have a clear strategic focus and stick to it.  3) Doing what you love makes working really hard a lot of fun!

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Sylvie Leotin

Sylvie Leotin is an entrepreneur, advisor, writer and polymath, with a unique approach to bridging the worlds of business, technology, arts and culture.

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Wipit, Inc.

Startup/Business

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Wipit is an early-stage venture in the burgeoning mobile payments industry focused on enabling the cash-preferred consumer to make mobile e-commerce transactions.  In the US alone, there are over 42.2 million under-banked and un-banked households and a rapidly growing number of over 50 million prepaid mobile-phone subscribers.  Mobile e-commerce revenues are projected to grow at a rapid pace to quickly rival traditional e-commerce figures.  Wipit is strongly positioned to take advantage of these two disruptive global trends with a highly successful team that includes the Founder and former President of Virgin Mobile USA and former VP of Sales & Marketing of Boost Mobile USA.

 

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Richard Kang

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