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James Dong

Startup operator, advisor, founder & business owner, ex-Bain

James Dong is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at ICA Fund, helping to build new products that ICA can deploy to assist its growing community of business owners.3 He has a diverse background in business and sustainability:

  1. Professional Experience:

    • Founder and owner of Last Minute Gear, an outdoor gear shop in San Francisco (2014-present)1
    • Operations at Multitudes, a startup focused on building happier, higher-performing teams (January 2023-present)1
    • Consultant at Medallia and Bain & Company1
  2. Education:

    • Graduated from the University of California, Berkeley - Walter A. Haas School of Business with degrees in Business Administration, Environmental Economics & Policy, Chinese, and City & Regional Planning1
  3. Entrepreneurial Achievements:

    • Built the entire eCommerce platform for Last Minute Gear as a full-stack engineer1
    • Founded Net Impact Berkeley, which received the Undergraduate Chapter of the Year award in its first year1
  4. Sustainability Initiatives:

    • Led sustainability initiatives in food waste management, water conservation, and reuse at UC Berkeley1
    • Developed and managed the Green Pharmacy Program at Teleosis Institute, providing safe take-back solutions for unwanted medicines1
  5. Recent Activities:

    • As of February 19, 2025, James announced that he is giving away his small business (Last Minute Gear) for free, seeking eager outdoor founders to take it over2

James Dong is known for his commitment to sustainability, entrepreneurship, and making the outdoors more accessible while reducing waste and unnecessary overconsumption.1

Highlights

Oct 17 · linkedin

Really awesome first day at #LeadDevWestCoast! Highlights include:

  • Amanda Sopkin's awesome insight about it's important for managers to remember that people's ambitions (and preferences) may change, they may bounce from "rockstars" to "popstars" (see picture)

  • Shelly Stuart reminding us that vacation time does NOT cure burnout, and that "toil" doesn't decrease along with team size

  • Lexi Galantino talking about the importance of asking "when do you need this by" rather than "is this important" (because everything is!)

  • Hywel Carver saying that as we move a world where AI does writes more "easy code", we need to upskill by ensuring we're deeply understanding the why and how of code, not resting on the laurels of "best practice" and "it just works"

  • Plum Ertz dropping the mic on reframing the need for accessibility in web design: 1 out of 4 people have some kind of disability, which means however you're thinking about your users, you will build in an automatic 25% margin of error if you don't bring in accessibility early!

Really amazing event LeadDev, as blown away as I thought I'd be Meri Williams!!

Related Questions

What are James Dong's main responsibilities at ICA Fund?
How did James Dong's experience at Bain & Company influence his career?
What sustainability initiatives did James Dong lead at UC Berkeley?
How did James Dong's role at Multitudes evolve over time?
What makes Last Minute Gear unique compared to other outdoor gear stores?
James Dong
James Dong, photo 1
James Dong, photo 2
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Location

San Francisco, California, United States