Kevin Stephens

Kevin Stephens

Co-founder and CEO of Blink, previously an early engineer at Google and YouTube. Also worked at Apple & Boxee. BS Computer Science, UCSD.

San Francisco, California, United States
Accredited investor
Member since March 04, 2012
  • About
Investor interests
Type of investor Angel
Typical investment size $25,000 - $50,000
Typical investments in a year 3
Categories of interest
Credentials Accredited Investor
Education
1999 UC San Diego , BS , Computer Science
I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:
Blink
If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to invent something cool.

My favorite startups:

Kismet, Astrid, Crowdmob, Boxee

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

Having complete direction of a product that I find personally exciting.

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

Not failing fast enough, and being married to a single idea or approach. It's important to sense when something isn't working and try a different approach or new idea.

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

Be agile and move quickly, particularly when it comes to product development. Pick investors as carefully as you would pick employees -- they're part of your team, too. Most important, don't be dissuaded by naysayers. The best technology always has naysayers.

Full bio

Kevin Stephens is the co-founder and CEO of Kismet. Prior to Kismet, Kevin worked at Google, YouTube, Apple, and Boxee. At Google he was one of the earliest members of the mobile team and a key member of the AdSense team, where he worked across Engineering, Product, and Business Development to help build Google's mobile presence in Asia Pacific and Latin America. At Boxee, he headed the company’s Device Partnerships. He holds a BS in Computer Science from UCSD.