VICTOR TSAO
PRESIDENT
MIVEN VENTURE PARTNERS
JANIE TSAO
VICE PRESIDENT
MIVEN VENTURE PARTNERS
THE MONEY: The founders of home networking group Linksys Group Inc. Victor led product development and all company operations, while Janie led sales and business growth. Company started in garage, using $10,000 of their savings. Developed the first affordable broadband router, allowing consumers to connect all their internet devices up to one broadband line.
THE NUMBERS: Linksys sold to Cisco Systems Inc. for $500 million in 2003, stayed with company post-sale. Couple in 2007 shifted their focus to Miven, an investment firm they had founded in 2005.
THE INVESTMENTS: Miven “invests in consumer and technology companies, and a portfolio of hedge funds for investing in publicly listed companies,” said a late 2021 profile by Illinois Institute of Technology, which added alumnus Victor to their board of trustees. Assets include cash, commodities, currency, fixed income, private equity, public equity, real estate, and venture capital, the profile said, noting Victor has “extensive experience in financial modeling and risk management, and allocates capital both directly and through private placement vehicles.”
PHILANTHROPY: Tsao Family Foundation in Newport Beach supports religious, charitable, scientific, literary, cultural, and educational causes. Contributions have gone toward Hoag Hospital, CHOC, The Purpose of Recovery, The Ecology Center and the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center.
