Kevin Koym
CEO | Founder | Mentor
As a seven-time startup veteran and CEO and founder of Tech Ranch® Austin, a venture accelerator for early-stage technology companies, Kevin Koym is a recognized pioneer in the startup community whose influence has been felt by over 5,500 entrepreneurs from 38 countries. At the end of 2015 Tech Ranch® was selected by UBI Global in the Top Three Social Impact Incubators in the United States. Kevin’s continuous ability to replicate entrepreneurial success for emerging technology companies is a result of a proven community-based approach to provide the support and pragmatic agitation needed for entrepreneurs to not just accelerate their business, but also disrupt their targeted markets.
His motivation to work with startups stems from his belief that supported entrepreneurs create more innovation, which leads to more solutions to address society’s most pressing issues. As a result, Kevin is known worldwide for his work in establishing entrepreneur networks in the U.S., Mexico, Chile, Singapore and Korea.
His distinguished career fuels his passion for advising startups, which has seen two $0-to-$1 million startups and four others that made the $500,000 mark, and a number of “firsts” including the development of the first internet banking application in 1995 and the first large-scale e-commerce application engine, which generated over $2 billion in revenue for Dell Computer in the late 1990s. Kevin was at the forefront of exploring profile-driven commerce, the use of Linux to secure networks and exploring the feasibility of Affective Computing. And, his experience working with technology luminary Steve Jobs at NeXT influences his ability to inspire the global entrepreneurs he supports.
In 2010, the Association of Information Technology Professionals, Austin Chapter, honored Kevin as “Technology Community Leader of the Year”. Prior to founding his own companies, and in addition to NeXT, Kevin worked for the UT Health Science Center, Southwest Research Institute, Motorola, and IBM, earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, and is an Eagle Scout.