Bedy Yang is an American investment specialist who is highly skilled in entrepreneurship, venture capital investments and startups. As managing partner of 500 Startups, Yang makes use of her multi-cultural abilities to secure promising startups and investment partners for the company’s Brazil/Latin American arm. 500 Startups is an early-stage tech venture capital fund that manages over 1,800 investments across the globe.

Yang is experienced in starting social business initiatives focused on income generation. Her skills include community development, problem-solving, project management, and international relations. She founded Brazil Innovators, an initiative with the goal of accelerating entrepreneurship in Brazil. Yang has also served as advisor on marketing and sales strategies for several multinational companies. In 2011 she joined 500 Startups with the goal of piloting global investments. Six years later the fund achieved investments in more than 60 countries. 

Location

Bedy Yang was born in Brazil to Chinese parents who moved from Taiwan to Paraguay, and then on to Brazil. After completing her basic education, Yang enrolled at FGV – Fundação Getulio Vargas in 1995 and graduated with a BA degree in business administration in 1999. In later years she furthered her studies at the University of Pennsylvania where she achieved a certificate in East Asian studies. Over the years Yang held roles throughout Brazil before eventually moving to the United States and settling down in San Francisco. Most of Yang’s investments are focused on Latin America and Southern Europe. She speaks English, Chinese, some Taiwanese, Portuguese, German and Spanish. 

Remarkable Investments

One of Bedy Yang’s most significant investments was in AdEspresso, a San Francisco-based SaaS company offering a solution for Facebook advertising optimisation. AdEspresso was successfully acquired by Hootsuite. Other major investments include:

• Babelverse – A London-based people-powered translation service that provides on-demand interpretation in any language through remote bilinguals. 
• BoaConsulta – A São Paulo-based healthcare booking app through which dentists and doctors can be booked. 
• BTCjam – A San Francisco-based cryptocurrency crowd-lending service with the goal of making credit accessible around the globe.
• Carreira Beauty – A São Paulo-based private mobile social networking platform empowering beauty professionals to become entrepreneurs in the digital realm. 
• Civic Brain – A San Francisco-based company offering big data software for world leaders. The software uses geographic intelligence and data science to unlock the potential of data-driven communication and is used by several local governments in the United States and Latin America. 

Latest News

Bloomberg published an article about Bedy Yang and 500 Startups opening an office in Miami where it plans to start making significant investments. According to Bloomberg the company may receive US$450,000 from the Miami Downtown Development Authority as part of a grant funding initiative to spur growth in the local investment community. Yang was interviewed by the Huffington Post as part of a series on trailblazing women role models from around the world. In the interview, Yang suggested that young people ought to trust their instincts when deciding what is best for them and not be afraid of failure. Gazeta de Povo reported in October 2018 that 500 Startups is actively increasing its portfolio of investments in Brazil. The article acknowledged Yang as being a driving force behind the major investments the company has already made in Brazil.