Victor W. Hwang

Victor W. Hwang is the founder and CEO of Right to Start. He is an economic growth expert & advisor, as well as an author and investor. His ideas have shaped the economic lives of millions of people worldwide. His work has helped over 300 communities, cities, states, companies, and entire countries create greater prosperity.

Hwang’s path was inspired by his parents, as educators who had to start a business to afford sending him to Harvard. But after the first day of Economics at Harvard, Hwang left the class and never returned. He realized that Economics – the way it was taught at elite institutions – was flawed. It didn’t account for his parents, and all the ordinary people like them trying to make their way. Hwang’s life’s journey followed from that day. He searched for answers to the questions, “How can we create prosperity by taking into account everyday people? How do we make a world that doesn’t stand in their way?”

Hwang became an entrepreneur and started several companies, organizations, and initiatives fighting to remove barriers holding people back. Previously, he was Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s leading philanthropy supporting entrepreneurs with an endowment of $2 billion.

Hwang pioneered the concept of “rainforest” ecosystems in a business context by showing how communities can replicate the historical innovation dynamics of Silicon Valley. His book, The Rainforest, was awarded Book of the Year, Gold Medal, by ForeWord Reviews for “a big idea that defines a way of thinking.”

National Public Radio named Hwang's graduation address to Austin Community College one of “the best commencement speeches ever.”