The Journal
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Sơn's path: from checks to code

By Robin · Personal desk·April 22, 2026·5 min

From the VC side of the table to building his own companies.

Sơn spent years on the investing side, evaluating other people’s companies — what made one work, what quietly sank another. Then he crossed the table to operate. Now he builds his own.

What the VC seat taught him

Pattern recognition: which bets compound, which founders ship, where good ideas go to die. Useful, but it’s judgment about other people’s work.

What building taught him back

That building is harder than betting, and far more honest about whether you were right. A thesis can stay plausible for years. A product tells you in a week.

The throughline is the same instinct — find the bet worth making — pointed, finally, at his own.