# Ricky Yean

> Ricky Yean is the co-founder and CEO of Flow Club, a virtual coworking and body-doubling community where remote, independent, and neurodiverse workers join live focus sessions to get things done together. A Taiwanese immigrant who arrived in the US at eleven and attended Stanford on a full endowment scholarship, he is a three-time startup founder and two-time Y Combinator alum (S10, S21). Before Flow Club he built Crowdbooster, one of the most popular early Twitter and Facebook analytics tools used by brands from Nike to the United Nations, and Upbeat, a tech-enabled PR service. He writes a weekly newsletter on startups, Asian America, and life, and does standup comedy on the side.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Flow Club
- **Organizations:** Flow Club, Crowdbooster, Upbeat, Y Combinator (alum), StartX (alum), Stanford University (alum)
- **From:** Taipei, Taiwan
- **Nationality:** Taiwanese-American
- **Education:** B.A., Science, Technology, and Society, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Built Crowdbooster into one of the most popular early social media analytics tools, used by 2,000+ brands and agencies including Nike, Red Bull, JetBlue, the United Nations, Edelman, and Ogilvy; reached about $1M ARR., Helped popularize the concept of Social Media Optimization (SMO)., Two-time Y Combinator alum (S10 and S21) and StartX alum.

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Immigrated to Los Angeles from Taipei, Taiwan at age eleven with his father.
- **2010** — Graduated Stanford on a full endowment scholarship; co-founded Crowdbooster with David Tran and Mark Linsey and joined Y Combinator's Summer 2010 batch.
- **2011** — Crowdbooster joined StartX as an EIR company; grew into a leading Twitter and Facebook analytics tool.
- **2016** — Wound down Crowdbooster; co-founded Upbeat with David Tran to make PR accessible to small businesses.
- **2018** — Discontinued Upbeat after concluding the model would not scale like a tech company, having helped 500+ businesses earn media coverage.
- **2020** — Founded Flow Club, a virtual coworking and body-doubling platform; returned to Y Combinator (S21).
- **2022** — Flow Club announced roughly $5M in funding and grew a strong neurodiverse and ADHD member community.

## Achievements

- Built Crowdbooster into one of the most popular early social media analytics tools, used by 2,000+ brands and agencies including Nike, Red Bull, JetBlue, the United Nations, Edelman, and Ogilvy; reached about $1M ARR.
- Helped popularize the concept of Social Media Optimization (SMO).
- Two-time Y Combinator alum (S10 and S21) and StartX alum.
- Co-founded Upbeat, which helped 500+ businesses secure media coverage in two years.
- Founded Flow Club, where members average 10-11 focus sessions per week, with strong adoption among neurodiverse and ADHD users.
- Attended Stanford on a near full-ride endowment scholarship as a first-generation, low-income immigrant.

## Latest updates

- **2022-04** — Flow Club announced roughly $5M in funding and highlighted its growing role as a focus community for people with ADHD.
- **2026-02** — Published a personal essay, 'My Claw-Pilled February (The Future Is Almost Here),' reflecting on emerging technology.

## Links

- Website: https://rickyyean.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickyyean
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/rickyyean
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rickyyean/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ricky-yean
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-21