Kevin Shao
01 / Intro
Kevin Shao

I moved to Taipei to bet on myself.No blueprint, no network, no safety net.

Currently building a community platform connecting humans to humans. Living nomadically in Taipei, spending my days writing, learning no code tools, and finding community in third spaces.

Hvalfjarðarsveit, Iceland — Fujifilm X-T30 II
02 / About

I've always loved listening and learning from the world around me.

Most of that happens when I'm away from my temporary living arrangement. In traveling to 14 countries over the past 2 years, I've discovered that there's no single definition of a normal life. That's made it hard for me to trust the idea that there's one well-marked path that's correct, including whichever one I happen to be on. I'm someone who wants to explore every possible alternative before continuing down one path.

The other thing travel has taught me about myself is that the more comfortable I get somewhere, the less I actually pay attention to it. I stay curious when there's some friction. A new place, a new problem, a situation where there's no existing playbook. These kinds of environments energize me.

That's a big part of why I'm in Taipei now: for reinvention. I came here to get a real signal, to actually understand what people in a completely different society might need.

Kyoto, Japan — iPhone
03 / Projects

A few things worth pointing at.

  • Huntington Strategy Group

    My brainchild. Founded Northeastern's first social impact strategy consulting group alongside 4 peers. Scaled it to a 40-member community working with clients across 4 impact verticals.

    • Operator
    • Consulting
    • Business Development
    • Leadership
    Annual Report
  • Personal Branding

    Writing to cultivate a community and encourage discourse. Sharing personal stories, opinions on community, and building a personal brand.

    • Creative Writing
    • Research
    Substack
  • Habit Tracker

    Keeping myself accountable - built a focus screen-time feature, customized chatbot, and habit tracking for my goals across adventure, career, community, and health.

    • Claude Code
    • AI Agents
    • Workflow Automation
San Juan, PR — Fujifilm X-T30 III
04 / Interests

Off the clock.

Currently reading

  1. The Power of NowEckhart Tolle

    About staying present instead of getting lost in what's coming next.

  2. The Pathless PathPaul Millerd

    Exploring alternative paths outside of my default environment.

  3. GreenlightsMatthew McConaughey

    His case for finding the opportunity inside whatever setback you're dealing with.

Into

  • Travel — 14 countries in the past two years
  • Photography — Taking my Fujifilm XT30-iii on slow walks
  • Sustainable fashion — deep dive into the world of burando furugi (ブランド古着)
  • Poker — 2/5 and 5/10, cut my teeth treating decisions like bets
  • Sports — heartbroken Mavs fan, 2x fantasy football champion
05 / Where I've been

A chronology of places.

tap a point for the full story

  1. grew up in Plano, TX

  2. left Texas for Northeastern University — Boston, MA. escaped the bubble

  3. New York, NY. internship at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx

  4. barista at Caffe Bene for a month before quitting, then co-ops at BCG, PwC, and Stax, always circling back to consulting

  5. London School of Economics summer session

  6. got the idea to start Huntington Strategy Group

  7. joined CareWallet, a healthtech startup, to lead growth. competed in a few startup competitions

  8. solo traveled for the first time — London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville

  9. graduated. left Boston

  10. Japan, Singapore, Thailand, China, South Korea, Indonesia. never anywhere more than 2 weeks at a time

  11. moved to Arlington, VA to start corporate job at Capital One

  12. traveled to Iceland with 2 friends. unlocked new terrains

  13. Puerto Rico. vacation instead of travel for once

  14. Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam. realized there were infinite paths I could take, and I needn't succumb to path dependence

  15. jul 2026put in my 2 weeks
  16. starting from zero, on purpose — getting close to the people building AI, and figuring out what to build myself

Kyoto, Japan — Canon G7X
Boston, MA — Canon G7X
Copenhagen, Denmark — Fujifilm X-T30 III
Copenhagen, Denmark — Fujifilm X-T30 III
Copenhagen, Denmark — Fujifilm X-T30 III
Amsterdam, Netherlands — Fujifilm X-T30 III
Singapore — Canon G7X
San Juan, PR — Fujifilm X-T30 III
06 / Contact

If any of this resonates — strategy, AI, a photo you'd like to place — the inbox is open.

Jökulsárlón, Iceland — Fujifilm X-T30 II
Colophon

Built quietly in 2026 — set in Space Grotesk, Work Sans, and JetBrains Mono.