When he’s not coding, Albert Tong enjoys photography and the outdoors.
Albert Tong‘s career path is a mix of skill and serendipity.
Out of college at the University of Michigan, he fell into a job that combined his two passions—computers and health. The Detroit area-native found himself at Cerner, the Kansas City-based health IT company, in 2005.
Thanks to our sponsor
Then four years later, at an airport on layover to a friend’s wedding, he updated his Monster.com resume out of boredom. Days later, Microsoft, Amazon and others were emailing him about jobs that used his relatively rare skill, Objective-C, and his experience with Apple Mac and iOS app development.
Instead, he chose OneLouder, a KC company that works in social engagement and has created apps for CBS Sports, BaconReader and TweetCaster.
He also found the budding startup scene in Kansas City, slowly coming into its own. A scene where he is an active participant, some calling him a leader and a standout in the community.
But now, he’s moving on again. This time to New York City.
This is where serendipity and skill intersect.
In the last year, three major life events happened to Tong in quick succession: Handmark was acquired by Sprint in May, he got married this fall and shortly after, his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“All of this shows you that life is short,” he said. “It really sinks in when you’re so close to people with major health issues.
“I’ve been at my job for five years and I’ve always wanted to experience a huge city at some point… This is the time to do it.”
In New York City, Tong will be head of mobile development at Krossover, a sport analytics app. There, he’ll lead a team and grow a company while working on a product that directly impacts the consumer, he said.
The app, similar to Hudl, is used to break down game footage for players, coaches and scouts. But with Krossover, the videos are sliced up in just a day or two. Another aspect, called SIQ, is a fun quiz app for athletes that plays a clip and then pauses. Athletes then decide what should happen next—it helps sharpen decision making, Tong said
“I’m a closet sports nut, so this is going to be fun for me,” he said.
As Tong joins the team, Krossover is scaling and growing from 15 employees to 30.
It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“Krossover was an app that was more of a tool or utility for athletes to become better or train better,” he said. “It’s a lot more than a consumption app.
“That was important to me — to make things that help people.”
And while Tong is excited to move to the Big Apple, he says he’ll miss the KC community that means so much to him.
“I love that variety and new experience of a new city, it energizes you,” he said. “It keeps on adding to yourself as a person and as a career and it fosters creativity.”
“That’s part of the trait of any entrepreneur—trying to be disruptive and change is part of the game.”
When he came to Kansas City, Tong wasn’t aware of a startup culture in the area, but by 2008, he says the area suddenly had a lot to offer. He started to dip his toes into the water at geek night meetups where he heard about people working on interesting under-the-radar projects.
From there it was more meetups, more growth for startups and from there. While his day job was a big part of his life, the social aspect of a rising startup community felt rewarding, too.
“It kept my mind fresh with new ideas,” he said. “I built social capital, attended a lot of events—hackathons, Startup Weekends and had a lot of fun doing good work and meeting good people. You felt that community energy.”
He said he hopes to maintain relationships he’s made in KC and plans to be back often—he has side projects, freelance work and friends in the area still. Plus his wife just started a 14-month nursing school program in Kansas City, so he’ll be visiting on a regular basis.
“I’m still very much tied to KC,” he said.
He hopes to build up a similar network of creative young people interested in sports, tech and entrepreneurial ventures in New York City. Tong also says he’d love to meet investors in the city who would be willing to help startups on the Silicon Prairie.
“I’m all for raising awareness for the KC community and shining a light on the Silicon Prairie,” he said. “There’s a lot going on here.”
“There’s momentum, pride. It pains me to be leaving at the time I’m leaving.”
Credits: Photo courtesy of Albert Tong.
