Meet Tim Hwang, Co-Founder and Former CEO of FiscalNote

Tim Hwang is the founder of FiscalNote, a company transforming how organizations engage with policy and regulatory data. Beyond FiscalNote, Tim is actively involved in a number of ventures spanning fintech, AI, cybersecurity, and healthcare, building companies that tackle highly complex, regulated markets. Michelle Moon from Asian Tech Collective sat down with Tim to discuss his journey, company-building philosophy, and the perspective he brings as a Korean American entrepreneur navigating global opportunities.

Michelle: You weren’t a typical teenager. You were elected to the Montgomery County Board of Education at a young age, for example. How have your early experiences shaped the types of challenges you pursue as an entrepreneur?

Tim: I’ve always been fascinated by policy. Politics is not just partisan noise, it fundamentally shapes economic outcomes. Government actions, whether incentives, regulations, or trade policies, create ripple effects across industries. For example, acts like the Inflation Reduction Act or changes in FDA approvals catalyze investment in renewable energy and biotech. My entrepreneurial lens comes from seeing these cause-and-effect dynamics: policy drives capital, technology adoption, and even the sectors that become popular.

Michelle: That’s a level of second-order thinking most people overlook, seeing opportunities and risks that emerge from government action rather than chasing trends.

Tim: Exactly. Some VCs chase hot sectors without understanding the underlying drivers. The best opportunities emerge from analyzing policy signals—what the government enables or restricts—and then building businesses that leverage those insights.

Michelle: Looking back at FiscalNote’s early days, what aspects of building a company were easier or harder than expected?

Tim: Everything was challenging, honestly. If anything was easier, it was building the product itself, because I had lived the problem and spoke with hundreds of potential customers beforehand. Everything else, including raising capital, recruiting, scaling operations, and managing expansion, was far harder. Mistakes are inevitable, but each one informs the next decision. I approach new ventures by obsessively testing assumptions, interviewing hundreds of customers, and de-risking before scaling.

Michelle: What’s an unconventional belief you hold that others might disagree with or overlook?

Tim: I believe by the time most VCs enter a market, it’s already saturated. Real value comes from spotting trends early. In AI, robotics, or sustainability, chasing the hype is rarely productive. Focus on building real value for customers, and market success will follow.

Michelle: AI is dominating conversations across tech. How do you view its impact differently from the mainstream narrative, especially in terms of opportunities and risks?

Tim: AI amplifies productivity for both good and bad actors. Tools that enhance engineers’ efficiency also empower cybercriminals and can even enable terror threats. The technology isn’t inherently positive; its impact depends on how it’s deployed. That’s a discussion we need to have more in tech circles.

Michelle: You’ve built in spaces with policy risk, regulatory uncertainty, and fast-moving technology cycles. What lessons can you share with us about resilience and adaptation?

Tim: Focus on solving the customer’s problem, not on the technology. Cloud, AI, SaaS—these are just tools. If the underlying problem is clear, the approach is malleable. Adaptability comes from being anchored in the problem, not the mechanism of delivery.

Michelle: How has your thinking on defensibility evolved, particularly with AI changing competitive landscapes?

Tim: The fundamentals haven’t changed. Defensibility comes from network effects, brand, regulatory barriers, and switching costs. AI might accelerate product cycles, but it doesn’t change the need to create long-term moats.

Michelle: Tell us about Inauguration Capital and your long-term vision.

Tim: Inauguration Capital functions like a venture studio. We focus on one company per year, conducting deep market research, building the team, developing products, and achieving product-market fit before bringing in external capital. This approach de-risks the business. Philosophically, I’m drawn to turning regulatory insights into ventures, like building a cybersecurity company post-Covid, an EV insurance company after the Inflation Reduction Act, or a GPU cluster in Korea after government incentives for data centers. Every investment is informed by policy, regulation, and timing.

Michelle: You’re involved in multiple ventures. Can you share the unique challenges and opportunities of one?

Tim: Nitra is our fastest-growing venture, a vertical fintech company for healthcare. The U.S. healthcare system is enormous and inefficient. Think $5 trillion in spending across hundreds of thousands of clinics and hospitals. Nitra brings transparency and efficiency to supply chain management, payments, procurement, and benchmarking for independent practices. The opportunity is huge: healthcare is now the largest expense for American households, surpassing rent and food, and it’s growing. The challenge is navigating a highly regulated, fragmented, and entrenched system, but that complexity also creates massive opportunities for those who understand it.

Michelle: It seems complexity is almost magnetic for you. Regulation doesn’t deter you?

Tim: The hardest problems are usually regulated for a reason, but they’re also the most important. Understanding incentives, reading the rules, and then acting decisively is how we find opportunity where others see risk.

Michelle: What is one tradition from your heritage that you still practice or deeply value today?

Tim: I spend a third of my time in Korea, celebrating holidays and maintaining cultural ties. I consider myself 50% Korean, 50% American, and I embrace both worlds.

Michelle: If you could place a message in a fortune cookie, what would it say?

Tim: Luck favors the persistent.

Michelle: After a tough or draining day, what’s your go-to comfort food?

Tim: A classic New York slice, a 99-cent street-corner pizza. Simple, comforting, and nostalgic!