Editor's note: This year we honored some of the brightest young minds in the Bay Area innovation sector as part of our Inno Under 25 feature. Check out all the profiles from this year's honorees here.
Jonathan Chang grew up in South San Jose during the height of the dot-com bust, but he wasn’t surrounded by a lot of Silicon Valley techies and investors. Except for his cousins, who were venture capital-backed founders. Chang still didn’t get involved in tech until after he graduated from UCLA where he studied statistics and film. In 2020, he began working as an analyst at a venture capital firm based in Los Angeles and soon started making his own TikToks about venture capital. Those videos generated interest from others who wanted to know more about how to break into the startup and venture capital world. So, Chang subsequently launched an organization called GenZ Scouts to help underrepresented students break into the industry. He also started an events newsletter called SF IRL, as well as a venture capital syndicate called DayDream Ventures which focuses on cutting pre-seed checks. And on top of that, he works as a startup liaison for San Francisco-based fintech Brex.
Jonathan Chang
- Age: 25
- Education: UCLA, Statistics with a film minor
- Residence: San Francisco
- Role: Founder
- What he does: runs SF IRL, GenZ Scouts and DayDream Ventures, in addition to working as Brex's "X in Residence", a.k.a. a liaison for startups.
What’s excites you about venture capital and startups?
There’s no other job out there which encourages you to talk to some of the smartest people in the world building some of the coolest and groundbreaking things that could shape our future. I’m super lucky to be in this space. I did a stint as a data scientist, and I’ve done work where I’ve just sat at the computer.
It sounds like you really enjoy being this connector, or a facilitator, rather than being a founder? I
f I find something I’m really passionate about in the future, yeah, I will become a founder and do that full time. But not yet. Right now, I describe what I’m doing, and what DayDream Ventures is, is kind of like a super connector. How do we connect founders with everyone in the ecosystem? Whether it be world-class operators, other great founders, investors, athletes, creators and really the whole gambit?
What does the future look like for you?
Over the next five to 10 years, I want to transform (DayDream Ventures) into an actual fund. Hopefully in five years we’re on either fund one or two where we’re deploying more capital, institutional capital, into startups in not only the Bay but all around the United States. Hopefully SF IRL still exists. And GenZ Scouts.
Do you feel like your age has presented any challenges in the VC industry?
Age-wise, I honestly view it as positive. It’s a lot easier for me to understand companies, meet founders who are in their early 20s all the way through their late 30s. And I don’t think age is an issue. It’s just experience, but that’s something that you grow into.
What are three must-have apps on your phone?
I’m looking at my phone right now … One is TikTok. I’m a TikTok creator, and TikTok gets me all my food rec’s. I also get all my travel recommendations on TikTok, as well. Twitter, or X. I’ve been building a big brand through Twitter and I feel like Twitter is a really good place for me to build out that brand and meet people that I would not have been able to meet normally. And DoorDash for a lot of my comfort food.
