Sigma Nu - University of Washington

SIGMA NU 4 "W e're a team, not a family," is a saying across some professional sports teams and technology companies; it highlights that a group, brought together to complete a mission, can change when the mission changes. To David Shim '99, Sigma Nu is the opposite: "We're a family that works as a team." He recalls that it was the times when he and his brothers were scrambling to get ready for a philanthropic event, a party, or a big remodel that they all came together to deliver. "What we were able to do, bringing together a wide set of personalities to achieve what any adult would think is impossible, is what made Gamma Chi so great," he said. Sigma Nu's strong sense of community and its values, including diversity, friendliness, and openness, are what initially attracted David, and the brothers he met during his first visit remain some of his closest friends more than 20 years later. As the first of his family to leave home for college, David learned about independence at Gamma Chi and gained the skills and confidence he needed to succeed on his own. Since it was a smaller fraternity, nothing was given but was earned, which pushed him to always be moving and growing. Sigma Nu's balanced approach to college and Greek life prepared him for the real world, and he is grateful for the opportunities and experiences it provided him. "Despite not being the largest fraternity, it had immense potential and taught me the importance of surrounding myself with like- minded individuals who share the same values and goals," David shared. "ese lessons have served me well in my entrepreneurial journey and continue to shape who I am today." In his career, David has founded and led several innovative companies. He is the founder of Placed, a leading location attribution company, which sold to Snapchat in 2017 and was later spun out to Foursquare, where he served as CEO. Under his leadership, Foursquare grew into the largest location data platform in the world with over $100 million in revenue. He is also the co-founder of Read AI, a company focused on making meetings more effective through the use of AI and analytics to create automated meeting summaries and metrics. "I've been blessed to have the ability to choose what I do next, and building Read AI is one of my most ambitious and exciting efforts yet." Outside of his career, David dedicates his time to supporting a variety of causes and organizations. He has also started to get back into collecting nostalgic items from his youth, including unopened graded video games and ancient coins. He recently added an unopened game from the days of KB Toys and a coin from the time of Genghis Khan, who conquered most of the known world until 1227. David is thankful to have parents who let him find his own path, even when they had to look up the word "fraternity." You can connect with him at davidhshim@gmail.com to learn more about his entrepreneurship and how Sigma Nu prepared him for this journey. W E A R E FA M I LY A N D A T E A M David Shim '99 Discusses How Sigma Nu Prepared Him for Success The entrepreneurial spirit I developed in Sigma Nu has stayed with me and has been a driving force behind my many successes.

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