Irene! (Heejin) Koo
lifelong learning, future of work, tech — and tinkering with everything in between.
lately -
- obsessing with future of work. through hosting FoW dinners in SF, NYC, Boston; writing; interviewing community colleges, favorite faculty members, learners; tinkering.
- being early believer in crazy ideas. partnering with stellar founders & builders, via Soma Capital.
- scaling Build Labs. global AI & social entrepreneurship non-profit across 4 continents.
musings and drafts in progress
- What does dynamic "proof of work" or "demonstration of skills" look like in the age of AI?
- How might we capture holistic, context-ful picture of individuals as learners and workers?
- What enablement layer is needed for companies to have accurate skills inventories?
archives
Largely shaped by questions and bets, I've led many lives: as a second author of a Nature Geoscience paper, leading entrepreneurship initiatives at Columbia, and playing racquetball competitively. I've spent time as a PM at Twitter and Apollo.io, one of the first operators for a healthcare startup backed by Sequoia and Khosla (0 to $10MM ARR in 8 months), and an early friend to founders (via Soma Capital, angel investing).
A common through line is investigating future of work, talent, learning, and opportunities from an economic mobility lens, which brought me to Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Outside of work — I hop cafes, connect wonderful people to one another, run, and host fun dinners.