Wayne Hu

Partner & COO, Tess Ventures | Venture Partner, Cocoon Ignite Ventures

Wayne has deep experience in finance and operations, driving loyalty and customer acquisitions in the casino gaming and hospitality industries, having served in leadership positions at Caesars Entertainment, Sands China and Regal Hotels International. In the US, Wayne worked on development projects for Caesars, expanding products and services for its customers. In Asia, he oversaw the go-to-market strategy in Mainland China for Baha Mar, a 5-star luxury resort in the Caribbean.

Wayne started his career in Silicon Valley, where he spent seven years leading marketing at prominent pre-IPO e-commerce firms, achieving profitability and customer milestones. Wayne holds an MBA in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“Tess and I met in 2018 at an investor conference and we instantly bonded over our desire to enable others and in our shared values. Subsequently I joined her venture fund Tess Ventures as a Partner and acted as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in a number of her portfolio investments, in particular joining one portfolio company as its CFO and COO. Together with Tess, we raised over US$3 million for the company and accelerated its growth trajectory, by leveraging Tess’ global network of value-add investors and then bringing in hands-on experienced advisors to further guide the company. She also introduced a strategic partner from Southeast Asia who is actively launching the company’s product in market.

Tess has been successful in all walks of her life whether as an entrepreneur, investor, connector or mother. Amazingly, she remains very humble and down to earth. It’s this approachability that really sets her apart from her peers. Tess values trust and professionalism in people above all else. She believes that hard work and persistence combined with talent, networks and timing drives success. She believes are no shortcuts and that is refreshing to see given the backdrop of fast crypto-wealth that’s been generated in the past few years. Fundamentals to building businesses and relationships are key.

Although Tess always has a full plate in her professional and personal life, she invests time to really get to know people and develop deep friendships. But she then takes it to another level – rather than just having made a new connection or a new friend and leaving it at that, Tess proactively thinks about how she can leverage everyone’s talents/skills/networks and considers how she may incorporate with that of her own, so that new opportunities (projects/investments) can materialize. Thus, I call her the “human graph”.

I am always encouraged or am enriched from any meeting I have with Tess. Whether it’s an individual meeting or a group, Tess is the reason people show up and give their full attention and imagination. Tess gives hope that intersects with aspirations and values. I know her as an investor, valued advisor, friend and a member of my personal board of directors. She is the type of person with whom I want to continue to partner.”