# Keith Ryu

> Keith Ryu is the co-founder and former CEO of Fountain, a hiring platform for hourly workers, and the founder and CEO of Palette Studios. His career began with Onvard, an online learning project at Arizona State University, before customer feedback led him into hiring software. A Y Combinator Summer 2015 alumnus, he now builds products, invests in startups and funds, and works between New York and Seoul.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Palette Studios
- **Organizations:** Palette Studios, Fountain, OnboardIQ, Onvard, Y Combinator, Entrepreneurs@ASU
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degrees in computer information systems and finance; Barrett honors student, Arizona State University, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Co-founded Fountain, a high-volume hiring software business serving hourly and frontline employers., Participated in Y Combinator Summer 2015., Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology, 2019.

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Founded Onvard in February with Diego Ortiz and David Choi while studying at ASU.
- **2014** — Graduated from ASU and moved to San Francisco to sell Onvard; the business subsequently pivoted into high-volume hiring.
- **2015** — Co-founded OnboardIQ with Jeremy Cai and participated in Y Combinator’s Summer 2015 batch.
- **2017** — Origin Ventures led a $9.1 million Series A; OnboardIQ rebranded as Fountain in September.
- **2019** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology; Fountain raised a $23 million Series B.
- **2020** — Fountain appointed Sean Behr CEO on September 15; Ryu remained focused on strategic initiatives.
- **2022** — Fountain announced a $100 million Series C extension led by B Capital for international expansion.
- **2026** — Palette’s current team page identifies Ryu as its founder and CEO; exact founding date not established.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Fountain, a high-volume hiring software business serving hourly and frontline employers.
- Participated in Y Combinator Summer 2015.
- Forbes 30 Under 30 Enterprise Technology, 2019.
- Fountain had helped employers fill more than 400,000 jobs by its 2017 Series A financing.
- Founded Palette Studios, which publishes a revenue and profit sharing model for team members.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Research checked on October 12: Palette Studios’ team page lists Ryu as founder and CEO, describes team revenue/profit sharing, and links to his Threads and GitHub profiles. This is an observation date, not a claimed appointment date.

## Links

- Website: https://palette.ag/en/team
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kibaekr
- GitHub: https://github.com/kibaekr

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/keith-ryu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12