When Michael Tang first went to San Francisco Bay University, he had no idea he'd end up working there, starting his own company and eventually joining another startup that went public for big bucks.
After graduating with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, Tang worked at SFBU as the deputy director for admissions and director of placement. He would market the university to students and help them with internship and job opportunities.
He was attracted to the university because past President George Hsieh was his mentor. Tang was accepted to various institutions, but it was Hsieh’s seminar on Emotional Quotient and Intelligence Quotient that motivated him to attend SFBU in the heart of Silicon Valley.
“The education here I think inspires people to push their curiosity to the next level, especially in technology,” Tang said. “Because we are at such a crossroads of humanity and technology and design here, I got exposed to all the company cultures in the area and was inspired to study."
“And I think, as a student, the drive to know more will eventually push you to explore deeper in the subject that you are interested in, which is the most important thing. It's not the knowledge itself. It's that motivation behind that, to push us students to explore more.”
His advice to students is to make as many connections as possible. While working at SFBU after graduation, he was hosting a short-term rental and had the opportunity to meet all sorts of people. By chance, a businessman named David Kanel stayed over, and the relationship changed his life. The two of them started working together with other founding team members and raised money for the startup Boxc Logistics, launching Tang’s career to further heights.
From there, Tang joined mobile e-commerce marketplace Wish and helped build up its logistic infrastructure and system. It went public in 2020, and the father of two daughters is still excitedly constructing logistic solutions for the next generation of e-commerce.
If you have connections, you can connect technology, you can connect people, then you're halfway through success,” Tang said. “It's all about connecting dots and believing in yourself and taking a leap of faith. Sometimes you don't know what's going to be happening ahead of you. You just need to trust that it’s going to be great.”
