As a high school student from a low-income background in Los Angeles, California, Oscar Wong was passionate about economic empowerment and mobility. He’s carried this passion throughout his life, from Stanford University, to big tech companies in Silicon Valley and abroad, to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and all the way to his current organization, where he invests in the next generation of creators and companies.

Oscar’s entrepreneurial drive is derived from his immigrant family: his grandparents on both sides were small business owners, one side running a tailoring business and the other a restaurant. “Getting to know my grandparents at a young age and getting to hear their stories from my parents, there's always been this entrepreneurial drive and spirit within me,” he shares.

When his parents sought more economic opportunity, they found their way to Los Angeles, at first working in kitchens in Hollywood. During that time, they enthusiastically watched the Academy Awards every year, deciding to name their son after the iconic statuette. 

When he attended Stanford through QuestBridge, Oscar knew he had a pre-business leaning, but he took his time to figure out his interests. “I actually took a while to discover and try out various majors before I formally declared Economics at the beginning of my junior year… I gravitated towards interdisciplinary fields that helped me better understand the world around me,” he shares. That interdisciplinary lens aided him in obtaining highly sought-after internships at Adobe, Apple, and eventually his full-time role at Google.

At Google, Oscar joined the coveted APMM program, where he supported launches like the Google Assistant, Google Pixel, and Grow with Google. Just a couple years out of college, he was given the opportunity to move to Asia to focus on scaling YouTube. “Getting to live and work in Hong Kong and Shanghai was fascinating.  It was incredibly enriching to take a product launch from idea to execution, especially in high-growth emerging markets for the company,” he shares.

Armed with product launch experience at big tech companies, Oscar went on to earn an MBA at Wharton and then pivoted into the early-stage startup and venture capital ecosystem. He previously worked at  Gold House Ventures, championing Asian Pacific leaders and pioneers “to break the bamboo ceiling and to bring greater representation in the industry.” Today, Oscar is a Partner at Seven Stars Ventures, backing founders building AI-powered applications across consumer and enterprise technology. His roles enable him to economically empower others to bring their visions into the world. 

Having developed deep knowledge about tech, business, and entertainment, Oscar reflects on how far he has come, sharing, “I’ve been able to work on several career-defining launches, but I still think about when I was still in high school, before QuestBridge – I didn’t even know where Stanford was on a map, or what a career in startups or venture capital meant.” 

Today, he regularly gets contacted by other QuestBridge Scholars for networking and advice and enjoys giving back to the community. “I think if there was something I took away from the college and QuestBridge experience, it is that spirit of generosity and paying it forward. We all started somewhere and the QuestBridge connection still remains very strong.”