Long before Dug Song became one of Michigan’s most successful tech entrepreneurs, he learned about investing in the community at his father’s Baltimore liquor store.
His father, a Korean immigrant, hired people others overlooked, including formerly incarcerated men and homeless teens. Song said those interactions helped shape his approach to philanthropy and mentorship.
“Being first means you have to lead and make it easier for those who follow,” he said.
It was also at the store where Song discovered technology, the pathway that eventually led to his success as the co-founder of Duo Security. He handled data entry work and gained access to forums and groups via a modem before the internet was widely used.
“That is where I found the world beyond Baltimore and beyond the store,” he said.
After his father was killed during a carjacking in 1993, Song came to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he studied computer science. He further honed his skills after being caught hacking as a freshman, an incident that ultimately led the university to offer him a job as a security administrator.
From there, Song began building companies that helped establish Michigan as a growing tech hub.
In 2018, Song and his co-founder sold Duo Security to Cisco for $2.35 billion, a deal he said was the largest venture-backed tech acquisition in Michigan at the time.
Not one to slow down, Song soon turned his attention toward giving back, launching both the Song Foundation and the Michigan Founders Fund, which he says are closely connected.
“After you sell a company and you’re working on it for all these years, better part of a decade, you’re sort of lost,” he said.
For about two years, Song traveled, visiting 22 countries and reconnecting with old friends. As he figured out what was next, he drew on his commitment to philanthropy and expanding opportunity in Ann Arbor and Detroit, where he saw gaps in access and resources.
He says the Song Foundation focuses on three major areas: youth and emerging leadership, entrepreneurship and inclusive innovation, and social and racial justice. The Michigan Founders Fund is a peer network of 150 founders.
“For me, it was very lonely building my business here, and it was also really, really hard,” he said. “What we do as tech entrepreneurs here is not what necessarily this place is about, meaning that people talk about automotive, people talk about lots of other things.”
Technology can be a “great equalizer,” Song said, because it lowers barriers to building businesses. The Song Foundation supports efforts such as computer science education, Black Tech Saturdays, and programs that connect underrepresented founders with funding, mentorship and professional networks.
“With community comes purpose,” he said.
Song takes that to heart, attending community gatherings, hosting dinners for founders and building connections.
“What stands out most about Song’s work is his presence,” said Darren Riley, co-founder of JustAir, an environmental tech company. “He makes himself accessible to the community, challenges us to think bigger, asks us the hard questions, and does all this with the spirit of wanting to see our community thrive.”
Scott Shireman, executive director of the University of Michigan Center for Innovation, said Song made him feel welcomed before he even moved from San Francisco Bay Area for his current role.
Shireman recalled, “He reached out to me on LinkedIn to welcome me, just to reach out and say, ‘Hey, I really like your profile. I’m glad you’re coming.’ And so we just connected from there.”
Shireman said Song is a great supporter of the University of Michigan and is passionate about helping people succeed.
“He’s invested into areas where he’s trying to serve the community and trying to really cultivate a diverse group of entrepreneurs,” he said.
Asked about his legacy, Song focused on helping others reach their potential.
“If it’s any legacy here, it’s that it will have gotten much easier … for generations to come than it was for me, or for us. … We want to just make sure that we build that platform of opportunity for many more folks to follow.”
Dug Song
Age: 50
Occupation: CEO, Song United
Family: Wife Linh, a son and a daughter
Education: University of Michigan, bachelor of computer science
Why honored: For funding equity and inclusion causes through his foundation, helping people of color start their own businesses. He is a major provider of capital to startups and also mentors founders.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tech entrepreneur Dug Song helps Michigan’s future business founders
Reporting by Candice Williams, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Candice Williams, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
