Dave Lu
InvestorFounder & Managing Partner at Hyphen Capital
San Francisco, California
Writes $100K – $3M checks · typically $500K
About
A Silicon Valley veteran who worked at Yahoo!, Apple, eBay, and Cisco before founding Fanpop and Expo. He started the Asian American Founders Circle in 2011, led a Wall Street Journal open letter against anti-Asian hate, and produced the Emmy-winning documentary '38 at the Garden.'
Experience
- Hyphen CapitalFounder and Managing Partnercurrent2020 — present
- Apex for YouthLeadership Councilcurrent2025 — present
- Corporate EdgeCo-Founder of Asian Leadership Centercurrent2024 — present
- Smithsonian InstitutionAdvisory Board Member, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Centercurrent2022 — presentWashington, District of Columbia, United States
- AAAIMMembercurrent2023 — present
- Gold HouseMembercurrent2023 — present
- Sandbox VRInvestorcurrent2024 — present
- SafeBaseSeed Investorcurrent2023 — present
- GammaSeed Investorcurrent2023 — present
- MìLàInvestorcurrent2022 — present
- Pry FinancialsSeed Investorcurrent2021 — present
- Stand with Asian AmericansCo-Foundercurrent2021 — present
- Formation BioInvestorcurrent2021 — present
- PersonaInvestorcurrent2021 — present
- SanzoInvestorcurrent2021 — present
- ODDITYSeed Investorcurrent2021 — present
- NexInvestorcurrent2021 — present
- ExpoCo-founder & President2015 — 2025San Francisco Bay Area
- YPOMember2021 — 2024
- 38 at the GardenExecutive Producer2021 — 2022
- LuxeVP of Marketing2015San Francisco Bay Area
- FanpopCEO and Founder2006 — 2015San Francisco Bay Area
- CiscoProduct Marketing Manager (Pure Digital Technologies)2004 — 2006
- eBaySenior Manager, Product Strategy2004
- AppleProduct Marketing Manager (MBA Intern)2003Cupertino, CA
- Sony Corporation of AmericaSenior Associate2001 — 2002New York, NY
- Yahoo!Product Manager1999 — 2001Sunnyvale, CA
- Deloitte ConsultingBusiness Analyst1998 — 1999San Francisco, CA
Skills & more
FundraisingNetworkingStart-ups61Product Management52Entrepreneurship36Social Media11Product Marketing13Management12Strategic Partnerships11Marketing10Strategy9Digital Media6
+12 more
Business StrategyVenture CapitalBusiness DevelopmentDigital StrategyOnline MarketingE-commerceOnline AdvertisingMonetizationLeadershipRelationship BuildingSEOMobile DevicesLanguages Chinese · Spanish
- Open Water Scuba Diver — PADI
From Dave's professional profile.
Colleagues at Hyphen Capital
Christopher Yang
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Dave Yang
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Eric Toda
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Gene Chuang
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Jate Samathivathanachai
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Jon Park
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Mengfei He
Managing Director at Hyphen Capital
Stephen Hsu
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Network4
Christopher Yang
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Dave Yang
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Eric Toda
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Gene Chuang
Investor at Hyphen Capital
Investors connected to Dave in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Dave Lu?
- A Silicon Valley veteran who worked at Yahoo!, Apple, eBay, and Cisco before founding Fanpop and Expo. He started the Asian American Founders Circle in 2011, led a Wall Street Journal open letter against anti-Asian hate, and produced the Emmy-winning documentary '38 at the Garden.'
- Where does Dave Lu work?
- Dave Lu is Founder & Managing Partner at Hyphen Capital.
- What check size does Dave Lu write?
- Dave Lu typically writes checks of $100K – $3M.
- Where did Dave Lu go to school?
- Dave Lu studied at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)); University of Pennsylvania (Bachelor’s of Science in Economics (The Wharton School), Finance and Strategic Management).
Same school
Also attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business1,384
Roelof BothaAdvisor & former Steward at Sequoia Capital; SpaceX board memberPeter FentonGeneral Partner at BenchmarkSteve JurvetsonCo-founder of Future VenturesDavid SzeAdvisory Partner at GreylockKatherine BoyleGeneral Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (American Dynamism)Hunter WalkCo-founder & Partner at Homebrew
+ 1,378 more
Also attended University of Pennsylvania824
Brian ActonCo-founder of WhatsApp; co-founder of Signal FoundationKunal BahlCo-founder of Snapdeal; co-founder of Titan CapitalDasha MaggioPartner at Felicis Ventures, writer on venture capital and founder psychologyNancy WangInvestor at Felicis VenturesLeah von SiemensPartner at Manta Ray VenturesEghosa OmoiguiFounder and Managing General Partner at EchoVC Partners
+ 818 more
Shared employers
Also worked at AAAIM8
Tim HsiaFounder at Context VenturesJason LinCo-founder and General Partner at Lifelike CapitalJay EumFounding Managing Partner at GFT VenturesDominic LauPartner at Ripple VenturesBrenda ChiaChief of Capital Development at Paladin Capital GroupChristine TsaiCEO at 500 Startups Vietnam
+ 2 more
Also worked at Formation Bio11
Alfred LinPartner at Sequoia CapitalWill ReedInvestor at Spark CapitalMichael DixonInvestor at TRANSFORMATION CAPITALVinod MittaVenture Partner at Floating PointDavid SteinbergGeneral Partner at Longwood FundScott KuporManaging Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
+ 5 more
