From Big Banks to Startups

PROVO, Utah – Mar 01, 2021 – Whether Christian Hsieh, a BYU Marriott School of Business MBA alum, is talking with a veteran of finance or a young employee of a startup, he’s constantly learning something new. Hsieh’s current experiences as the founder of a crypto-asset management startup are just one step on his journey of lifelong learning.

Hsieh’s quest for education took him from his home in Taiwan to BYU–Hawaii and then, after he worked for a startup company in Utah, to BYU Marriott in 2007 for an MBA. At BYU, he enjoyed learning business principles in the light of the gospel. “When I was taking classes such as accounting, every lesson was spiritually oriented. That spiritual focus went hand in hand with the secular principles that we were discussing,” he says.

Years later, Hsieh still remembers the lessons about integrity and common sense that he learned during his time at the school. “Sound judgment is crucial in business because there is so much noise out there, and so many people try to do too much to feel productive instead of focusing on making the right decisions for their business,” he says. “The sound judgment we need often comes from the Spirit. When we pray about our decisions, that often saves us a lot of energy. Integrating gospel principles into business practices can lead to success in that way.”

While studying at BYU Marriott, Hsieh focused on finance and ended up accepting a job with JP Morgan in Singapore after graduating in 2009. “While working at JP Morgan, I noticed some inefficiencies and limitations in the world’s current financial system,” he says. “I feel that the current financial ecosystem is not inclusive enough and is only open to certain privileged people. Financial services should be accessible to a much wider audience.”

Hsieh believes that cryptocurrency is a more accessible way for people to build wealth, so he started his own company working with that technology in 2018. “Bitcoin is a transformative innovation because everyone with a mobile phone and internet connection can access that technology,” he says. “While working at a larger crypto exchange, my partners and I decided to create a new company, Tokenomy, focused on crypto-asset management.”

Whether he’s working at one of the largest banks in the world or in his own small startup, Hsieh learns valuable lessons from those around him. “In a traditional finance setting, I worked with a lot of experienced professional investors who are wealthy and wise, and I learned a lot from those people,” he says. “Now I’m in the startup setting, learning and working with younger people. They’re innovative and efficient, and they know how to use the most advanced technologies. I’ve seen a different learning dynamic between the different age groups I’ve worked with, but learning from each of them is rewarding.”

Hsieh is grateful for the experiences he’s had throughout his career. “My career journey has been rewarding because I run into different people every day, tackle different problems, and hear new stories,” he says. “The knowledge and learning experiences are the most important things that I’ve gained in my career.”