https://www.sorahseong.com/home daily 1.0 2026-07-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/05b7a2b7-b8e7-4a83-993a-ff9d9c3cce49/profile+Sorah+Seong.jpeg https://www.sorahseong.com/gallery daily 0.75 2026-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/24a1d230-6575-4d60-b259-0907c5f1ed25/IMG_1927.JPG Gallery My first week at INSEAD, kayaking down the River Loing with fellow PhD students, is a memory I look back on with so much fondness. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but even knowing what I know now, I’d do it all over again. Fall 2012. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/74c40a52-5437-4a9b-b0dd-22fa43e41e49/Screenshot+2026-07-21+at+00.08.04.png Gallery Right after my dissertation defense, with three of the committee members who had anchored my doctoral journey: Phil Anderson (chair), Gabriel Szulanski, and Jason Davis. (Frédéric Godart, who was based at our Fontainebleau campus, could not be in the photo.) I was truly, truly fortunate to learn from and stand on the shoulders of giants in management scholarship. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/1785386944624-CUWDKYNRF3Y3AHTE5JRP/graduation%2B38.jpg Gallery Hooded at last at INSEAD! I earned my PhD in Management, specializing in Organizational Theory and Entrepreneurship. Those years taught me to nurture my “idea-children” with rigor and patience, bring them to life, and help them create meaningful value in the world. June 2018. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/053e751c-7253-46a8-b1f5-e1b6cc7c696d/graduation+33.jpg Gallery Giving the graduate address at the INSEAD PhD Award Ceremony. Singapore, June 2018. "We owe an obligation of stewardship to our ideas. They are struggling to be given life, to achieve currency in the world, to create real value for people who can build and run a better society. So, today, as we step out the door as newly-minted doctors, let us continue to inquire and inspire to be the best possible representatives of our idea-children that we can be." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/30a7215e-4886-4fb6-8cb1-1e0391e09b40/IMG_5343.JPG Gallery With my colleagues at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, where I worked from 2018 to 2021. They were exceptional scholars, and even better people. I learned as much from them about life as I did about research. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/84480f70-4bf6-4872-9cd5-8ab839b1f7be/IMG_5347.jpeg Gallery A proud moment for my department: UW Foster's M&O, ranked #2 in the nation for its five-year research record. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/fdc5b374-3b73-467c-9fce-e1fdaa03b14d/IMG_6837.JPG Gallery An early morning in my faculty office at PACCAR Hall. My favorite memories here are the countless office hours spent with students whose dreams reached far beyond these four walls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/291d8dc5-13f1-4aed-8c6f-f3b711a28710/B2C660F0-DBFA-45A4-BBE6-4119B41D8446.jpg Gallery In the classroom at UW Foster, teaching strategic management and entrepreneurship. Most of my courses were heavily project-based, giving me a front-row seat to what some of the brightest minds of the next generation could create. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/b88bf9ce-78bd-48da-b9bf-6564266bd8fe/IMG_2400.jpeg Gallery The University of Washington's Seattle campus offered a breathtaking view of Mount Rainier, which greeted me on every commute. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/209b32ec-5ad8-4f4a-93b4-ffbf0eed0252/Poets-Quants-for-Undergrads-Top-50-Professors-UW-Foster-1024x640.jpg Gallery In December 2020, I was named one of Poets&Quants’ Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors in recognition of my research and teaching. (Click the photo to read the full article.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/95c2838a-526f-4304-af5f-10baee4d529c/IMG_7976.JPG Gallery In the fall of 2021, I published "NFT Revolution," a book about NFTs that I had never imagined myself writing. It soon became a national bestseller in Korea and was later translated into several languages across Asia. Seeing it on a bestseller shelf was a strange and wonderful experience. September 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/4e961fc0-6a3d-4fcc-9a95-8c1fec6e0031/IMG_8379.JPG Gallery Behind the microphone, mid-recording. In the months following the success of "NFT Revolution," I found myself moving from one talk, interview, and guest appearance to the next. I had not expected any of this when I left UW to build a Web3 startup, so I was especially grateful for every opportunity that came my way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/75707c6e-5a7e-4133-ba4b-6e6a61602664/FEpGKg0VEAkBdGr.jpg Gallery Speaking at TWIN Virtual 2021 alongside professionals from around the world working at the intersection of art and business. November 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/d119a561-be41-4f88-b770-48d7459dbc1f/IMG_7864.PNG Gallery Trading academic conference panels for media interviews took some getting used to, but I soon discovered how much I enjoyed the change of pace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/e8e5816e-48c5-4bd7-8764-46e7bae19267/IMG_8263.JPG Gallery Whenever I had the chance, I tried to shift the conversation from the trees to the forest: beyond the craze for NFT collectibles to the broader rise of the token economy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/5ec2da4a-ef04-467d-b95f-5e7d7eb92338/IMG_8256.JPG Gallery Signing copies of "NFT Revolution," one of the small rituals that made the book feel real. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/51b3901f-1ef3-468a-a48d-b2c493e96b5b/IMG_8584.jpeg Gallery I even had the chance to record voice-overs for a few documentaries about crypto and Web3. I still cringe a little at the sound of my own voice, but I had so much fun doing it. Sometime in 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/f0f2d881-6a63-4e05-a75e-5a01329283bd/IMG_8484.PNG Gallery On stage at the 2022 World Cultural Industry Forum (WCIF), speaking about the metaverse in music and entertainment. July 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/d1a9debc-4470-4531-8dc1-655a4eab1c42/IMG_1667.jpeg Gallery One of my fondest memories of 2022 was mentoring an inspiring group of college students from across the United States at a Web3 camp in Hawaii. August 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/b5147eec-094c-4330-8e4f-8705d62b20ff/IMG_1777.JPG Gallery Speaking about life, work, and DAOs at a Web3 mentoring camp in Hawaii. (Click the photo to read the full speech.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/068cbd15-ac84-4103-be36-416031b64f81/IMG_0025.jpeg Gallery Inside Madrona Venture Labs (MVL), where I spent the first half of 2022 as an Entrepreneur in Residence leading a Web3 venture. Working with brilliant minds in the space helped me bridge academia and practice, and ultimately led me to build SQRT. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/61854fc5-288e-44e4-a458-d2b6e4b0ad85/IMG_0045.jpeg Gallery A breathtaking view of Seattle from the MVL office. It was the same Mount Rainier that had greeted me on my daily commute to and from UW, but somehow it felt different to see it this time as an entrepreneur. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/8da06cd4-41aa-4738-94a6-44a3be072c5c/IMG_8816.JPG Gallery On the panel at the World Knowledge Forum (WKF) 2022 under the theme "Supercompensation." September 2022. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/e7d2d8cc-8a2d-4511-97a3-06b9d43ba587/IMG_3339.JPG Gallery The fashionxDAO launch party in the winter of 2022. Our goal was to move beyond the craze and create something tangible with real-world utility, beginning with clothing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/619c1f2e-9934-4a85-941c-e040f3a64a3f/6.jpg Gallery Our NFT collection featured three tiers: super-premium, premium, and basic, each offering its own set of perks and membership benefits. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/c2bf8620-1ca5-4281-81d9-df7082642bc2/7.jpg Gallery A selection of our fashionxDAO character NFTs, created for the pilot season, “Save the Whales.” Each super-premium NFT was individually hand-designed, making every piece truly one of a kind. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/f305f65a-72d2-4992-8210-aff8e2236b42/IMG_2796.jpeg Gallery An early product from a fashionxDAO pilot, turning a Web3 idea into something you can physically hold and cherish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/ddc5f8cf-19b5-4183-b039-9fc082d9e606/sqrt_wordmark_01_black.png Gallery After months of preparation, SQRT was born in the winter of 2022 from our mission to democratize access to quant crypto trading, making wealth building simpler and safer for everyday investors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/a11b7a33-0341-45f2-8e28-e77081fde682/IMG_8058.jpeg Gallery Welcome to the SQRT office! Named after the square root used to calculate volatility, a key measure of financial risk, SQRT reflected our mission to help everyday investors manage crypto trading risks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/30d841ce-3e9f-4d0a-a63e-2aca323b2520/IMG_7272.png Gallery We were a lean team of five, mostly quant traders and developers, building on two fronts: launching a B2B business to generate early revenue while refining our consumer product through closed betas with a select group of ambassadors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/499979cf-9b13-4f7d-84e6-aa9571b990aa/IMG_7747.jpeg Gallery Our office essentials: a makeshift bed and a blessing tree. The bigger question was what SQRT should become: a Web3 company, a financial platform, or even a fund? I lost plenty of sleep searching for the answer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/53c3c8d6-bceb-44dc-92b2-ec5f1ec174b4/IMG_2703.jpeg Gallery A pause after winding down SQRT over the fall and winter of 2024. I’m forever grateful to my team for their commitment and spirit through the very end. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/d0b02b8e-b349-4d45-aebe-ce4166b68e71/7B2E96D9-CE31-45D7-846F-5979A7DE6306.png Gallery Holding "Beyond AI: The Human Strategy" for the first time, hot off the press! The book asks a central question: as intelligence becomes increasingly ubiquitous, what will allow us to remain distinctive and fully human? December 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/03a57871-8a98-493b-bd2c-41ca423cd1de/IMG_5668+2.jpeg Gallery Endorsements for my book include: “A wide-ranging exploration of what makes us human.” Mi Seob Kim, CEO, Mirae Asset Securities / “An invitation to rethink your life and rediscover what makes you uniquely human.” Samuel Kim, Global Head of M&A, Deutsche Bank / “The most illuminating guide to the AI era published this year.” Eugene Cook, Head of Korea, Blackstone https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/96588ede-18c5-475f-ba1c-b41760b72c32/Screenshot+2026-07-26+at+12.23.04.png Gallery Building on my latest book, I continue to write articles and design and deliver executive programs on leading with human judgment in the age of AI. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/2dfc68b8-cefc-4608-8049-9c5748d7a7f3/IMG_9347.jpeg Gallery Back at INSEAD, roughly 8 years after earning my doctorate here in 2018, this time as a visiting scholar! I returned with a perspective shaped by practice, now at the heart of my research. 2026 - https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/5b53ec82-42cd-46df-8484-01b67671ec45/d56a91b1-3c29-4af4-a31c-bd9bc023e069.jpeg Gallery Off the grid at the Silky Path in Strategy research workshop in Bintan. Sometimes the best thinking happens on the water. May 2026. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/698f75a2c33d200b94ac68ec/31e81773-6619-46f3-bc46-9aae4701163c/a64bfb8e-0645-4386-bbc4-adf9eec4af28.jpeg Gallery I find great joy in joining, and learning from, public conversations about what AI cannot "generate": creativity, intuition, empathy, and human connection.