Tsao, Victor & Janie
(The following text is an excerpt from the book Chinese Americans in Irvine 1971-2021)
In 1988 a young couple in Irvine, Victor and Janie Tsao, took $10,000 out of their savings, to start their business in her brother’s garage. First, Janie resigned from her job to devote full-time to the venture, to develop personal computer peripheral products and markets. Only after the company had established a few key customers did they move into an office building near UC Irvine. They had no idea that the Linksys brand they started, would meet the favorable reception by families as well as small and medium-sized businesses, and change the lifestyle of how we share and use the internet. The fact that, years after leaving the management of the company, they should still be inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame
by Consumer Electronic Association in 2014, reaffirms their continued influence.
Looking back on the process of starting their business, Janie analyzes Linksys’ success as that they were in the right field at the right time, and their product met the needs of the time. The internet was raring to go, and Linksys was concentrating on developing personal computer router products. They already had penetrated the retail channel, so were able to take advantage of the times and win a large share of the market. Linksys made its name as the first company making internet sharing for home and small businesses accessible and affordable.
During the time Victor and Janie were running Linksys, they were chosen by Inc. Magazine for seven years in a row as one of the fastest growing private enterprises. Janie says this honor did not come easily: To achieve that kind of success was the result of whole-hearted collaboration and hard work from the chief executive to the warehouse shipping team. It is a true team
achievement.
Janie who served as manager of computer software development in several large corporations, majored in literature in college. When she came to the U.S. in 1976, she gained entry into the computer programming language training class at Sears, then a leader in the retail industry.
There she learned to apply logical computer software programming to handle business decisions. Later, she joined Carter Hawley Hale as computer systems manager. The company had seven retail department store brands. The computer programs had to adapt to the needs of companies of varying complexity. Therefore, Janie constantly had to immerse herself among different department store’s requirements in various systems. This made multitasking and managing challenges logically a second nature in Janie’s future business management. Working experience in large enterprises instilled in Janie the ability to lead independently which proved of key importance to the founding and operation of Linksys.
At the beginning of Linksys, Victor and Janie aimed at promoting connectivity solutions to homes and small to medium businesses. Victor was responsible for product research and development while Janie managed sales and marketing. In those days, Janie regularly stayed after everyone else had left to prepare and make decisions for their next business step. This taught her persistence to make things happen and ability to withstand rejection. As the company rapidly grew, Janie, through the process of learning by doing, accumulated managerial self-
confidence. When faced with major decisions, Janie excels at taking an objective, cool view in analyzing the pros and cons. Once a decision is made, she is ready to assume the
consequences and to aggressively resolve any resultant problems. Thinking back, Janie feels the most satisfying achievement for her is that the founding process had unleashed her innate abilities.
Janie Tsao, who had been named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Inc. Magazine, credits the success of Linksys to step-by-step hard work, building from the bottom up. Advice to young entrepreneurs is to start with a business they are passionate about and build experience upon it.
Having big vision is important; but, finding an anchor to be able to build up steadily is part of the key to success. In 2005, Victor and Janie Tsao sold the growing Linksys for $500 millions but continued running the company. Four years later, they completed the terms of transfer, and handed it over. Ownership has changed hands several times since, but the brand name remains, and its headquarters remain in the City of Irvine, becoming the first manufacturer to have sold over 100,000,000 routers.
When first leaving Linksys, almost like a parent seeing their child off to college, Janie had mixed feelings but was gratified to see Linksys rise to a higher platform. Then she and Victor Tsao established the Tsao Family Foundation. Assuming a low profile, they turned to philanthropy, with a non-profit organization mainly in support of areas such as education, health care and
environmental protection. For example, they have joined “pearl classes and schools” in Chinese villages to help poor students advance their schooling. In Southern California, through the foundation, they continue to contribute to Hoag Hospital, CHOC of Orange County,
The Purpose of Recovery, The Ecology Center and the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center, etc.
Because both their sons had attended Irvine Chinese School, Janie Tsao has been a board director of South Coast Chinese Cultural Association (SCCCA) since 2015. With her experience in settling in this country and in founding a business, she will be helping new immigrants
assimilate in this new world and to promote the long-term plan of passing on Chinese culture in the U.S. (English translation by Sally Feng)
曹英偉、吳健
(以下文字摘錄自《爾灣華裔紀實1971-2021》一書)
1988 年爾灣一對年輕夫婦曹英偉、吳健,拿出一 萬美元積蓄,借用哥哥家的車庫創業,最初先由
吳健辭去工作全時間投入,開發個人電腦周邊產品與市場,直到公司爭取到數筆大訂單,才遷入加州大學爾灣分校附近的辦公大樓。他們沒有想到,夫妻兩人打造的 Linksys(領勢)品牌,倍受家庭與中小企業青睞,成為第一家將電腦連線產品大眾化的廠商,甚至在他們退出公司管理層多年後,兩人仍被選入消費電子產品名人堂,肯定他們歷久不衰的影響力,。
回顧當年創業的過程,吳健分析說,Linksys 的成功有部分原因是創業的時間點與產品正好趕上大潮
流,90 年代網際網路剛起飛,Linksys 集中全力開發個人電腦周邊產品,在經銷通路上已有基礎,才能掌握時機,率先在市場上佔有一席之地。
曹英偉、吳健經營 Linksys 期間,曾連續七年獲公司(Inc.)雜誌選為全美國成長最快的私人企業之
一,吳健說,這項榮譽得來不易,要歸功於當時的團隊上下一心,從公司主管到負責倉庫出貨的員工都全力以赴,才能創造出那樣的成績!
曾在多家大公司擔任電腦軟體開發主管的吳健, 念大學時主修文學,1976 年來美後考上當時零售業龍頭 Sears 的電腦程式語言培訓班,學會應用電腦軟體協助商業決策。後來進入加州知名百貨企業 Carter Hawley Hale ,轉任電腦系統經理人。公司旗下有七個連鎖百貨品牌,電腦程式要能同時適用不同等級的公司,因此,吳健經常帶著手提電腦到各家百貨公司與主管開會,了解他們的實際需要,回到辦公室,馬上投入處理另一家百貨電腦系統的問題,在大企業工作的經歷,培養吳健獨當一面的領導力,成為創辦及經營 Linksys 的關鍵。
創立 Linksys 之初,曹英偉與吳健致力於將大型企業的電腦連線設備推廣到一般家庭用戶及中小型企業,曹英偉負責研發產品,吳健主管行銷,那時吳健經常在同事都下班後,還留在辦公室處理最棘手的難題,摩練出堅持到底、不怕失敗的本領。隨著公司快速成長,吳健在邊做邊學的過程中,累積經營管理的自信,面對重大決策時,吳健擅長客觀冷靜的分析利弊得失,做出決定後就坦然承擔後果,積極解決問題,現在回想起來,創業過程中激發出個人潛力,反而成了令吳健最滿意的成就。
曾獲 Inc. 雜誌選為「年度企業家」的吳健認為, Linksys 的成功是靠一步步苦幹,從下往上建立起來的。年輕人創業不必好高騖遠,應先從自己最熱衷的行業開始,再慢慢的累積經驗,「不用想太多,腳踏實地去做就對了!」她經常這樣鼓勵創業新人。
2003 年曹英偉、吳健將成長中的 Linksys 以五億美元售出,並繼續擔任主管,四年後完成移交的任
務,才急流湧退,迄今該公司幾度易主,不但仍維持原名,總部也留在爾灣市,成為全球首家銷售突破一
億台電腦連線路由器(router)的廠商。剛離開 Linksys 時,吳健心情有如送孩子去上大學的家長一般,欣喜中摻著些許不捨。隨後她與曹英偉成立了曹氏家族基金會,低調轉向慈善事業,主要支持教育、醫療及環保等領域的非營利組織,例如在中國鄉村地區設立珍珠班及學校,資助家貧學生完成
學業。在美國南加州,吳健透過曹氏家族基金會,贊助 Hoag Hospital、 橙 縣 兒 童 醫 院(CHOC)、The Purpose of Recovery, The Ecology Center 及南海岸中華文化中心等機構。由於兩個兒子曾就讀爾灣中文學校,2015 年起吳健出任南海岸中華文化協會理事,以她在美國安家及創業的經驗,協助移民融入新世界,並推動在美傳承中華文化的長程計畫。(蕭迪玉撰文)