Brandon Foo

Yo, so you gotta hear about Brandon Foo. This guy’s a straight-up startup machine. He’s from LA, and he’s been crushing it since day one. Like, he jumped into the scene with a solid background – studied math and econ at UCLA, which honestly explains a lot about his sharpness with numbers and business vibes. But what really sets him apart is how he’s just been jumping from one big thing to another, never settling.

He started out co-founding CTRL LA, a mobile design and dev studio, and also helped run CTRL Collective, a co-working space in LA. Basically, he’s been all about building spaces and tools for entrepreneurs to thrive. Then came LA Hacks and HackTECH – he organized those huge hackathons, which is a big deal because that’s where he proved he could bring people together, inspire innovation, and really get the community fired up. That’s some real leadership right there.

But the big break? Y Combinator. Brandon was in the Winter 2016 batch with Polymail – an email collaboration platform that aimed to shake up how we work with email. That was his first big VC-backed move, and it showed he’s got the hustle to play at a higher level. Polymail was the real deal, and going through YC? That’s like the startup Olympics. It gave him the platform and credibility to keep pushing.

Fast forward to 2019, Brandon co-founded Paragon. This isn’t just some side project – it’s a SaaS integration platform. Think about it: he saw a problem in the enterprise world, the pain of messy integrations, and he built a solution. That’s classic Brandon – spotting real problems and jumping in to fix them. He’s all about making tech work smoother, more connected.

What’s crazy is how his process shows what really drives him. It’s about more than just making a quick buck. Brandon’s all in on building ecosystems – whether that’s through startups, hackathons, co-working spaces, or community groups like Bruin Entrepreneurs at UCLA. He’s fired up by creating stuff that empowers others, and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty making it happen.

He’s also been involved with other ventures like Perfect Pitch and Verify Investor, plus worked at Meridian Asset Management and Century Park Capital – so he’s got a solid grasp on both tech and finance, which is rare. That mix makes him someone who really understands the full picture of how startups grow and scale.

And dude, he’s recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30, which is no joke. That’s like being recognized as one of the most promising young entrepreneurs out there. Basically, Brandon is a guy who’s been quietly building the future of LA’s tech scene, all while staying super grounded and community-driven. No Cap, he’s the real deal – someone you wanna watch because he’s just getting started.