Steph Ango

We’re about to simp for Steph Ango, aka Kepano, dude’s a straight-up legend in the startup and creative world. He started out with a wild mix of biology and industrial design, which honestly shows in how he approaches problems, super hands-on, super thoughtful, always looking for that future trend to make life easier or more meaningful.

He jumped into the startup scene with Lumi back in YC W15, which was all about sustainable packaging for online brands. That was the real deal, helping companies ditch bullshit waste and go green. Lumi got bought by Narvar in 2021, so Steph crushed that. But that’s just part of his story.

Before Lumi, he was into Inkodye, an early project that shows he’s always been about pushing creative boundaries. But what really makes him stand out? His knack for combining design, tech, and storytelling. Steph’s not just building stuff; he’s building tools that help others be creative. He’s developed open-source plugins and themes for Obsidian, the super popular note-taking app, which he now runs as CEO since Feb 2023. This isn’t just some side gig, he’s all-in on making knowledge management better, more elegant, more accessible.

And get this, he didn’t just stumble into Obsidian; he was a community guy first, sharing ideas, essays on design and creativity, hosting the ‘Well Made’ podcast where he chats with leaders in sustainability and entrepreneurship. That shows he’s all about learning, sharing, and lifting others up.

His process? It’s about jumping into whatever excites him, whether it’s biology, design, or software, and then turning that into effective companies or tools. The dude’s motivated by making stuff that matters, whether it’s eco-friendly packaging, open-source plugins, or modern note-taking. He’s all about making the complex simple, the creative process smoother, and the world a little better.

In short: Steph Ango is the guy who’s been building, thinking, and leading across different worlds, startups, design, tech, sustainability, and doing it with a no-bullshit attitude. His whole vibe? Innovate, share, improve. No Cap, he’s one of those founders you look at and think, “Yeah, this guy’s making a real difference.”