# David Haisha Chen

> David Haisha Chen is the cofounder and CEO of Strikingly, the website builder he started with Teng Bao and Dafeng Guo in 2012. A former University of Chicago student-government leader and Moneythink cofounder, he helped turn an unsuccessful campus crowdfunding project into a tool for people without coding or design experience. Strikingly joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2013 batch.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Strikingly
- **Organizations:** Strikingly, Moneythink, ECSEL, Goldman Sachs, University of Chicago Student Government
- **Education:** Studied economics; left in 2012 to start Strikingly (completion not established), University of Chicago
- **Known for:** Cofounded Strikingly and led it through Y Combinator’s Winter 2013 program., Cofounded financial-education nonprofit Moneythink., Founded and chaired the Uncommon Fund Board for entrepreneurial student projects.

## Career timeline

- **2008–2011** — Served as Vice President of Administration in University of Chicago Student Government.
- **2009–2011** — Cofounder and director at Moneythink; handled fundraising and event organizing.
- **2010** — Summer analyst at Goldman Sachs; met future cofounder Dafeng Guo during the internship.
- **2011–2012** — Director at ECSEL, an incubation program for Chinese social entrepreneurs.
- **2012** — Left the University of Chicago and cofounded Strikingly with Teng Bao and Dafeng Guo.
- **2013** — Strikingly participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2013 batch.
- **2016** — Published advice on applying to Y Combinator, including excerpts from the team’s application.
- **2020** — Reported more than four million entrepreneur users at Strikingly in a November interview.

## Achievements

- Cofounded Strikingly and led it through Y Combinator’s Winter 2013 program.
- Cofounded financial-education nonprofit Moneythink.
- Founded and chaired the Uncommon Fund Board for entrepreneurial student projects.

## Latest updates

- **2020-11** — Discussed hiring, reserving time for personally championed projects, and more than four million entrepreneur users in a dated interview.

## Links

- Website: https://www.haishachen.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haishachen
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/HaishaChen

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-haisha-chen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20