Victor Hwang

Victor W. Hwang is an entrepreneur and economic growth expert whose ideas have shaped the economic lives of millions of people worldwide. He is founder and CEO of Right to Start, a national nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates to strengthen entrepreneurship across all 50 states. 

Previously, Victor was Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s leading philanthropy supporting entrepreneurs. At Kauffman, he led initiatives that impacted over 200,000 entrepreneurs in 200 cities, including efforts in catalyzing capital formation, transforming economic development, launching a national policy roadmap, and breaking barriers for underserved entrepreneurs. Victor was CEO and co-founder of T2 Venture Creation, a Silicon Valley venture firm that built startup companies and designed ecosystems to foster innovation in dozens of countries and cities.  Victor was co-founder and CEO of Liquidity, a venture-backed startup making safe drinking water filtration based on nanotech manufacturing and winner of the TechCrunch Disrupt competition. He was President and COO of Larta Institute, an organization commercializing technology with federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.  He was Chief Strategy Officer of Veatros, a video startup where he led the company’s acquisition by a public company.  Victor practiced corporate and technology law with Mayer, Brown & Platt and Irell & Manella. 

The Atlantic named Victor as a “guide to the next America.”  He has been a contributing columnist to Inc., Forbes, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, The Hill, and Entrepreneur. National Public Radio named his graduation address to Austin Community College one of “the best commencement speeches ever.”  His co-authored book, The Rainforest, was awarded Book of the Year, Gold Medal, by ForeWord Reviews for “a big idea that defines a way of thinking.” Victor is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School.