Christopher Nguyen

Christopher Nguyen

CEO & Co-Founder of Yatown, The Trusted Neighborhood Network. Venture-backed CEO, 2 successful exits as co-founder, former engineering director at Google. BS UC Berkeley, PhD Stanford.

Los Altos, California, United States
Member since March 04, 2012
  • About

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to change the world.

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

#1 Frustration: Don't have the same clout or leverage as when having a big corporate name behind you.
#1 Reward: Complete freedom to move and change at lightning speed.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Those of us with large-company background don't know how to think small, and those with small-company background don't know how to think big.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. You are never adapting as fast as you need to. I just admit defeat and try to adapt faster.
2. Need to have co-founders. A real co-founder is someone who's up when you're down, and vice versa. Anything else is not.
3. You need to develop a rare balance of realism and optimism. Realism to assess challenges with your head out of the sand. Optimism to keep an absolute faith (and convince others) that you & your team can beat them.

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