A lifelong learner, Edmond Wong has applied his expanding expertise to grow companies, advise entrepreneurs and create community in the investment field.

GROWTH MINDSET
Wong, MBA, grew up in Canada and studied business at the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ontario. Prior to graduation, he landed a unique opportunity at the third largest apparel company in Canada, which handled large U.S. accounts, including Gap, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Eddie Bauer and L.L. Bean. It was there that Wong spent time understanding each facet of the business. Over the course of his tenure, Wong became well versed in business operations, from product development and manufacturing to sales and account management.

“It’s really understanding how every part functions together and how each segment — including marketing, customer service, sales, production and supply chain — affects the company,” said Wong.

After a few years of long commutes and cold winters, Wong had the opportunity to both follow his passion for skiing and further his career at a ski apparel company in Irvine. Wong expanded his skill set, this time focusing on consumer products, supply chain improvements, sourcing, operations, logistics and sales, and helped the company accelerate growth and reach new milestones. In 10 years, Wong went from Director of Merchandising to President.

Wong would continue this pattern of joining a business, improving operations and boosting sales several times before beginning his own entrepreneurial journey.

“My dad always told me that you’ll change your career multiple times, so for me, I wanted to try something different,” said Wong. “I’ve always had a passion for technology, whether it was tinkering with gadgets or playing video games.”

TEXTILES TO TECH
In 2010, when social media was still in its infancy, Wong, along with his friend and colleague Jeff Jackel, decided to get into the tech space.

“He’s always been an idea guy and I’ve been the more pragmatic ‘let’s check it out and see if it makes sense’ kind of guy,” said Wong.

Through throwing around ideas and talking to others, Jackel and Wong decided to create a platform to enhance communication and connectivity for event attendees. Friends and investors saw its potential, and it wasn’t long before the company, Chatter (formerly BuzzMob), was founded and funded. The startup’s app allowed sporting event attendees and concertgoers to engage with each other as well as with sponsors, teams and performers in real time, creating a one-of-a-kind event experience.

While the app worked well for smaller events, including a Willie Nelson concert, the team found that larger events posed connectivity issues. Before 4G became mainstream and before every venue was equipped with Wi-Fi, communication networks would be strained by the tens of thousands of people using their phones in stadiums. Though a novel idea, the app was limited by the technology of the time, which drove the team back to the drawing board.

As it happened, Wong’s friend who worked in education was looking for a way to communicate with parents of school children. Following a successful pilot program, the team met with their investors and decided to pivot to the edtech space and rebranded themselves as Appletree. While the newly pivoted startup ran into red tape from school districts and their budgetary restraints, they quickly found that individual teachers were leading the charge on adoption from the bottom up.

“We said to our investor, ‘We can’t ask teachers to pay because they already make so many out-of-pocket purchases. We’re just going to let them use it for free, but we have a strategy,’ and I’m all about crafting a strategy,” said Wong. “’Why don’t we let them use it for free, create the best experience for them so that they love our product, and then we’ll figure it out.’”

One teacher became one school, followed by a few teachers at neighboring schools, and eventually the school districts became interested in widespread adoption and struck up conversations with Appletree. True to the strategy, Appletree was then able to monetize their platform by offering premium features, including dashboards and engagement data.

The startup continued to grow over the years with help from strategic partnerships and working with individuals they dubbed “edu-famous” — influential people in the education space such as former recipients of the National Teacher of the Year and State Teacher of the Year awards.

Their growth gained the attention of a large education company in Singapore that made the right offer at the right time to acquire Appletree.

ADVISOR, MENTOR, INVESTOR
Following the successful exit, Wong decided to pursue other opportunities that were important to him, including giving back to the entrepreneurial community, which led him to UC Irvine (UCI).

“I like taking the passion that entrepreneurs have and really helping them realize their vision, providing resources and help along the way,” said Wong.

Since 2018, Wong has been an Innovation Advisor, advising entrepreneurs enrolled in UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s Wayfinder program and serving as a coach and judge for the UCI New Venture Competition hosted at the Paul Merage School of Business. Additionally, Wong has served as a mentor for the Masters of Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the Merage School since its inception.

“My bread and butter is figuring out the go-to-market strategy, looking at the market, looking at different opportunities, finding out where the low-hanging fruit is, and focusing on the why,” said Wong. “At the end of the day, people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”

Wong’s passion for providing guidance to entrepreneurs goes beyond the walls of UCI, as he uses his expertise professionally to advise early-stage, high-growth companies backed by venture capital and private equity firms. According to Wong, acting as an advisor is both rewarding and advantageous.

“I really enjoy coaching and mentoring. I get a lot out of it,” said Wong. “At the same time, it gives me more exposure into what young entrepreneurs are thinking and doing, which opens up more opportunities for me as an investor or advisor.”

In 2020, after giving back to the entrepreneurial community through mentoring and advising, Wong and a few friends wanted to find a way to elevate the Asian American community while drawing from their passion for entrepreneurship. With that, just before the pandemic, Wong and his friends established the Asian American Investors Group (AAIG), which welcomes active and accredited investors of Asian descent.

Now with over 120 members, AAIG meets virtually once a month to share ideas and opportunities, make connections and promote the interests of the Asian American community in the U.S. The group primarily focuses on companies and funds from seed and early-stage venture to pre-IPO in the biotech, consumer, crypto, fintech, health tech and real estate spaces.

Wong’s personal areas of interest are artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and consumer and is always looking for new business and personal growth opportunities.

“I’m not the coder or the engineer,” said Wong. “I’m the business guy that is the glue that puts the pieces together and sees the vision of potential big ideas and executes on the vision.”

Access Innovation Advisors like Edmond Wong through Applied Innovation’s Wayfinder program.

Photography: Evans Akanno & Julie Kennedy
Graphics: Julie Kennedy

Watch Edmond Wong talk about three things every entrepreneur should know!

Produced by UCI Beall Applied Innovation
Directed and edited by Julie Kennedy
Filmed by Evans Akanno & Julie Kennedy
Animations by Tony Gao & Julie Kennedy