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Featured on Feb 13, 2013
Malcolm Ong
"What we do in life echoes in eternity."
Bio:
Malcolm is the Co-founder of Skillshare, a SXSW'i Panel Liaison, a 500 Startups Mentor, and an Advisor to numerous startups.
He previously led the Product team at OMGPOP, was a Senior Technologist at Razorfish, an E-commerce Specialist for IBM Global Services, and a graduate of IBM’s Extreme Blue program where he co-filed four patents.
Malcolm holds a B.S. in Computer Science with a double major in Business Administration and minor in E-commerce from Carnegie Mellon University.
- Title: Co-founder of Skillshare
- Age: 29
- Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
- Contact: malcolmong.com
How do you balance you're time between running your own startup and acting as a mentor for 500 Startups and advising numerous startups?
Running your company is, of course, always first priority. However, I feel that it's also important to give back to the tech community and interact with other like-minded entrepreneurs. Plus, time management is an art and science that I constantly strive to improve each and every day, so I can't say I've got it nailed down yet. That said, in general, I take a rather simple mathematical / logical approach to how I spend my time. Every week, there's a rough number of hours I dedicate to holding office hours or meetings for the companies I advise / mentor. I feel that, as long as there's a healthy balance between this versus all of my other priorities in the week, then I can be confident that I've had a productive week.
What is your favorite thing about New York City?
I love how there is always something to do, a new place to eat, new people to meet, etc. The pace of life, energy, and the diversity of folks working in the city is always an inspiration for me to fulfill the work-hard-play-hard mentality.
Would you recommend going to SXSW for new entrepreneurs? What do you recommend people do while there if they choose to go?
Yes. I think SXSW is a great event to participate in because it's one of the few times and/or places for tech entrepreneurs from all around the world to gather and share knowledge. I love being inspired by the keynotes, playing with the latest new gadget, and meeting folks I would perhaps normally not get a chance to speak to in-person. Plus, if you have an opportunity to share your own knowledge, I encourage folks to participate in a panel or give their own talk to the community.