Interview, Fireside Chat
The Immigrant Journey Behind A Silicon Valley Success Story
- Tracy Young, co-founder of PlanGrid (acquired by Autodesk for $875 million), founded her new startup, TigerEye.
- Young's parents fled Vietnam as refugees during the Vietnam War, fleeing with her on a small fishing boat at age one.
- During the escape, the family's boat sank after the crew bribed an oil rig operator to allow refugees to board; they were subsequently rescued by the Malaysian Coast Guard.
- The family spent nearly a year in a refugee camp in Kuala Lumpur before a Lutheran priest from San Bruno, California, sponsored their arrival in the US.
- Upon settling in the SF Bay Area, Young's mother worked swing shifts building chips with microscopy work that permanently damaged her eyesight.
- Her father worked in grocery stores, and the couple eventually built a 40-year restaurant distribution business, ABC Wholesale, which funded the education of their three children.
- Young notes that the emotional and mental challenges of founding a company are difficult, but her immigrant parents' survival in war zones and poverty make her struggles manageable.
- Young's parents initially opposed her becoming a construction engineer due to gender biases but strongly supported her transition to entrepreneurship, valuing the ideal of being "your own boss."
- Young reveals she harbored impostor syndrome early in her career, believing she did not fit the stereotypical image of a tech founder due to her gender and Asian heritage.
- Young attributes her lack of confidence to systemic unconscious bias and a lack of representation rather than any personal deficit.
- Young characterizes her parents' journey and the American Dream as a multi-generational reality of social mobility and creating value from nothing.
- She argues that immigration is a critical driver of the US economy, particularly in sectors like food service, childcare, elder care, and healthcare.
- Young highlights that in nations facing declining birth rates, immigrant labor is essential for maintaining economic stability and contributing to tax bases.
- She advocates for continued societal support for immigrants, citing the religious community's assistance to her family as a model of infinite human capacity for love.
- Young distributes a monthly newsletter titled "Predictable Growth," which highlights senior women in sales and revenue generation.
- Young is active on social media under the handle Tracy_Yellow and encourages connection via LinkedIn and Twitter.