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HOME > SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS > LOCAL LEADERS IN PHILANTHROPY > BIOGRAPHIES
Lip-Bu Tan
[Note: The following biography was prepared and presented at the 2002 gala by Board Member and KRON TV News Anchor Emerald Yeh.] We begin with the story of how America's worst nuclear disaster became an unlikely pivotal point in our first honoree's life, ultimately leading him to his successful career as venture capitalist. And while some may argue that the field of technology investments is going through its own meltdown, our first honoree is at the helm of a company that had no problem raising a billion dollars last year and is now looking to help build the next Cisco in China. As founder and chair of Walden International, Lip-Bu Tan is regarded by many as the pioneer of venture capital in Asia. His company helped create nearly 300 companies across the tech spectrum, with more than 60 of them going public, including such big names as Cypress Semiconductor and Sina.com. Last year, Lip-Bu was named Venture Capitalist of the Year at the Asian Venture Capital Awards in Hong Kong. I will tell you one thing off the top that will either make you hate him or admire him… given the very rough currents that technology stocks are weathering these days. Walden International exited profitably from 26 technology investments in 2000. Talk about impeccable timing… and enviable results. But when you finished hearing about Lip-Bu, the businessman and the person, and when you hear him speak up here, those of you who don't know him will agree that this story falls under the "couldn't happen to a nicer guy" category. Like many successful venture capitalists, Lip-Bu Tan is an immigrant--- born in Malaysia, the youngest of five children, son of a schoolteacher mom and newspaper editor dad, raised with a very strong emphasis on education. To this day, the joke in the family is that even with a master's in nuclear engineering… from MIT… at the age of 19, Li-Bu is the failure… or at least underachiever in the family. All his siblings have PhD's including a Rhodes Scholar brother who is a leading heart specialist in Britain and a sister who teaches at Harvard and is fluent in 15 languages. Lip-Bu would have gone on to get his PhD in nuclear engineering, but the Three-Mile Island accident happened and just about killed the industry… a temporary career disaster for Lip-Bu. He abandoned his engineering doctoral studies and headed west, taking a job as a design engineer with EDS Nuclear. To help him with his job, he took evening classes in Berkeley since he had, as he put it, "zero knowledge" in structural engineering. It was a similar story at his next job, a software start-up that two friends asked him to join. At this point, Lip-Bu was 21. He was named CFO of the company, but had no experience in accounting, so he went to USF in the evenings where he took businesses classes. Lip-Bu may not have gotten his PhD… but he was making up for it with all these night school courses! After a couple of years, the software company achieved annual sales of $30 million dollars and was acquired by another company. That sale provided seed money for Lip-Bu's future investments. Lip-Bu completed his MBA studies at USF and went to work for Chappell & Co., first as a consultant on energy investments and then as head of investment banking. It was at this job that one of the characteristic traits of Lip-Bu's successful investment style was to emerge. Lip-Bu found that it went against his nature to raise money for deals, take some fees off those deals and then move on. He preferred to stay involved with companies and spend time building those companies. He was frustrated by the fact that he couldn't serve on the boards of those companies, especially since he would bring friends in as investors. Lip-Bu felt responsible for the continuing welfare of those investments. It was at Walden International that Lip-Bu's investment skills and style would truly emerge. At the age of 25, he joined Walden Group, a venture capital firm in San Francisco. It was the mid-80's… and Lip-Bu set out two goals--- to double the size of Walden's VC funds within 10 years and to develop the yet-to-be exploited technology venture capital market in Asia. He soon started Walden International and established an early beachhead on Asian shores… helping companies there attract U.S. investors as well as assisting US companies in expanding in Asia. Within ten years, Walden International's funds grew to 20 times in size. In April of last year, Walden International joined the billion-dollar club. It took Lip-Bu and his team just two months and two road shows to raise that money, despite the depressed global economy. "He's the best fundraiser in Asia," says his former partner Peter Liu who now heads WI Harper. With $2 billion under its management, Walden International is known as the premier Asian venture company. What sets Lip-Bu apart is not only his vast array of contacts in both engineering and investment world on both sides of the Pacific, but his active involvement and long-term relationship with a company Take Creative Technology, for example, the Singapore-based company that set the world standard in PC sound cards with The Sound Blaster. Think how easy it would have been for Walden International to simply get out after the company went public…going from Walden's $1.7 million investment in 1990 to its $476 valuation on Nasdaq when it went public two years later. Instead, Lip-Bu has remained on the board of Creative Technology for 12 years now. Unlike many VC's who sell out and reap their profits after a company goes public, Lip-Bu says "Commitment to an investment is a partnership, almost a marriage." Another trademark of Lip-Bu's investment style is his work ethic, humility and integrity. He can often be found working long hours into the night or on the road to Asia where he and his team recently finished opening up 13 offices for Walden International in nine countries, building them "brick by brick," he said. Lip-Bu likes to say he has a transparent schedule -- everyone either knows where he is or how to find him. Lip-Bu says, "I cannot guarantee the success of your investment, but at least you can see the chairman of the company is working very hard with your money." Perhaps the best example of Lip-Bu's dedication comes from his earlier days when he was building that software start-up. It was the night before his wedding, but Lip-Bu was burning the midnight oil working until 4 a.m. Was his wife-to-be furious with him? Actually, Ysa was right there with him in the office. Just before dawn, the couple freshened up and went off to get married. Come to think of it, this story is probably a better demonstration of Ysa's dedication and sacrifice. Above all, Lip-Bu feels it is most important to be up-front and fair. His reputation for integrity was one of the criteria by which he was selected as Venture Capitalist of the Year last year. This manner of dealing with investors also extends to the office culture Lip-Bu has created at Walden International among his staff. In fact, he shuns the role of being head honcho. On the company's website, you see his name listed near the bottom of the page of team members. You can't even tell he's the chairman until you click open his page specifically. Lip-Bu Tan is personally involved in 16 community organizations, including the International Justice Mission, a Christian organization which rescues victims overseas, many of them children, from prostitution, bonded slavery and illegal detention. Lip-Bu describes these victims has having no one to turn to, no means of escape. But through the International Justice Mission, 7000 children have been rescued. He is also a major donor of Harbor House Ministries, which provides opportunities for low-income people in Oakland through programs for after-school, youth leadership, job skills, emergency food and clothing and education. While Lip-Bu enjoys taking his two sons on recreational outings like skiing and baseball games, he's also been known to take his children to Harbor House to expose them to an understanding of a less fortunate world and to plant in them the seeds of community involvement. At his sons' school, Lip-Bu is more than your average involved parent. He is co-chair of Head Royce School's $10 million dollar capital campaign of which more than $5 million has been raised. He is also co-chair of a $13 million capital campaign at his family church, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, where he is an elder. Raising $1 billion in venture funds is one thing, trying to raise money for a church or school is different, and in many ways, more challenging…. a true test of faith, as Lip-Bu puts it. But here's a true testament of his sense of fairness. The company has some Giants tickets and here we have Lip-Bu, the founder and head of a multi-billion dollar company, but he'll humbly take his place in line and ask the office manager in charge of distributing the tickets whether there are any left. He'd never pull rank, even when the Giants went to the World Series. Lip-Bu's giving nature springs from a mindset cultivated long before he became wealthy. His Mom used to tell him if you have $1, give away 10 cents. Starting that habit makes it easier to give away $100,000 if you have a million dollars. Parting with money is hard for many people, and that's where understanding the meaning of giving comes into play, Lip-Bu says. If you understand the meaning of giving, you will be more generous. In fact, his mother used to say give until you feel pain, and that's when the joy comes in. In these rough times, it's the non-profit organizations that are feeling the pain, experiencing a 50 to 60 percent drop in donations this past year. That's why Lip-Bu feels it's important to give even more these days… and indeed has done so personally. His belief is to give with one hand so that the second hand doesn't know how much was given away. In that way, two hands can give out five loaves. You get a sense of what high regard various community groups hold Lip-Bu in when you see how quickly they called or e-mailed the Asian Pacific Fund upon learning that he was being honored tonight. They use words like "unpretentious, unassuming, genuine concern, remarkable humility, involved and integrity" to describe him. The International Justice Mission, the rescue organization for oppressed victims worldwide, recounts how once, the organization happened to mention to Lip-Bu that it was trying to develop a case tracking database but was struggling with the nuts and bolts of setting it up. The next day, Lip-Bu had his company's database expert call the Justice Mission and spend hours guiding and directing the project. "We implemented the vast majority of Lip-Bu's and his tech guru's suggestions and it was a huge success," said Michelle Conn, a vice-president of the International Justice Mission. Lip-Bu has also helped the justice mission develop relationships with key leaders in Asia who now stand ready, willing and able to assist the organization in its rescue work. "Lip Bu Tan is a very sincere, supportive leader who provides the organizations that he supports with incredible financial gifts, skilled leadership, advice and incredible follow-through. He is always willing to go the extra mile," said Michelle and I think she spoke for everyone who works with or for Lip-Bu when she closed her e-mail to us by saying, "Thank you for honoring Lip-Bu Tan." Indeed, the thanks go to Lip-Bu Tan -- our first honoree tonight.
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