Harry Qi

Here’s some fire content about Harry Qi, the guy’s the real deal in the startup game. This dude’s background is wild but super focused. Started his process at Dartmouth, studying Computer Science and Math, basically the nerdy combo that’s perfect for tech and finance. Graduated in 2017, so he’s still pretty fresh out of college when he jumps into the trading world.

He worked at Optiver, which is that big quantitative trading firm, right? He was there from 2016 as an intern and then full-on as a trader till 2019. So, he’s got serious chops in high-stakes, fast environments, numbers, algorithms, making quick calls. That’s where he honed his skills in data, automation, and problem-solving.

But here’s where it gets interesting, he’s more than just about trading. Around 2019, he jumped into the startup scene with Motion. It’s a productivity app that uses AI to help teams and pros crush their schedules and tasks. The guy saw a real problem, people wasting time, bad planning, chaos, and he said, “Nah, we can fix this.” Founded Motion in 2019, and boom, got into YC W20. That’s a huge stamp, showing he’s got something that resonates.

What’s dope is, his background in trading and engineering totally shapes how he approaches building stuff. Instead of just throwing features at users, he’s thinking about optimizing, efficiency, and smarts, kinda like how he traded stocks but now he’s trading productivity. His team’s got that same quantitative, engineering mindset.

On top of that, he’s a venture partner at Pioneer Fund since 2020, so he’s not just building, he’s also investing in other startups. Plus, he’s the CEO of Nexusbird, which is basically Motion’s parent company, focusing on project management. Dude’s got his hands in a lot of pots, clearly motivated by a desire to solve real problems with tech.

And get this, he’s also legit in finance, holding a Series 57 license for securities trading. So, he’s never lost in the finance world either. That mix of finance, engineering, and startup hustle? That’s what makes him such a powerhouse.

Bottom line, Harry Qi isn’t just another founder. He’s a guy who took his background in math, trading, and engineering, saw a problem in how we manage time, and built something that could change how people work. His story’s about problem-solving, jumping into the deep end, and not stopping till he crushed it. That’s why he’s important, he’s the kind of person who sees the chaos, figures out the pattern, and builds the future.