How to Build Power and Influence on Our Own Terms with Hyphen Capital Founder Dave Lu

Jan 27, 2026

Dave Lu, managing partner of Hyphen Capital and Emmy-winning producer who elevates Asian American founders. He talks about escaping resume-driven validation and cultural silence. He explores communication hacks to be more assertive. He recounts organizing the WSJ 'Enough' letter and building power by creating visibility and community.

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INSIGHT

Seeing Ourselves Before Expecting To Be Seen

Many Asian Americans feel invisible because they internalize being unseen rather than claim visibility.
Dave Lu realized the core problem is we often don't see ourselves first, so others can't see us either.

ADVICE

Take Credit And Build Your Brand

Advocate for yourself by taking credit and building a visible personal brand instead of shrinking to make others comfortable.
Dave Lu stresses self-promotion, networking, and having agency so others don't take your credit.

ADVICE

Apply Even When You Don't Check Every Box

Apply for roles even if you don't match every bullet; confidence closes gaps others assume are disqualifying.
Dave Lu cites studies showing women and Asians self-filter out, while confident applicants with fewer checkmarks still apply.

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Guest: Dave Lu (Managing Partner of Hyphen Capital. Founder of Expo and Fanpop. Founder of Stand with Asian Americans. Producer of 38 at the Garden. Board of Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.)

Host: John Wang

In this episode, John sits down with Dave Lu, a serial entrepreneur, Emmy-winning producer, and the founder and managing partner of Hyphen Capital, one of the top VC funds focused on backing Asian American founders and cross-cultural entrepreneurs. From the viral "Enough" letter in the Wall Street Journal to the nuances of venture capital, Dave is a walking masterclass on how to stop being "invisible" and start being audacious.

In our conversation Dave dives into the "hoop-jumping" mentality that traps many Asian American professionals and explains how to transition from feeling the need to seek validation to building real influence.

Notable Quotes:

"I started from a place where I felt Asians are invisible….But I realized that, we feel like we’re unseen, but oftentimes we don’t even see ourselves. So how can anyone else see us?” — Dave Lu

“I did everything I thought I needed to do to make my parents proud, but also to find validation and self-worth through all the hoops I was jumping through. And I think that chase for self-worth and validation from just doing things and achieving things, it just led to emptiness again and again.” — Dave Lu

“All the rules to gain power are antithetical to how Asians are raised. We’re raised to follow every rule, don’t stick out, don’t break rules, don’t disagree, don’t argue. But one of the rules to gain power is to be self-promotional and build your brand, and we’re never taught to do that.” – Dave Lu

"If you don’t take credit for your work, someone else will. Advocating for yourself is having agency." — Dave Lu

Dave Lu Links:

https://www.davelu.com/

https://www.davelu.com/podcast

https://open.spotify.com/show/7plRO8VeNdoAT5fplNoNP4

https://substack.com/@davelu

https://twitter.com/davelu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davelu