Dave Liu, Associate (劉大維 / 投資經理)
Dave is an Associate on the accelerator & investments team. He joined AppWorks in 2022 with over 15 years of equity, ETF and derivatives trading and investment experiences. Before that, he managed his own investment house while at the same time he served as the head of investment at a fintech startup, TRUBUZZ, where he was first exposed to the excitement of a 0-to-1 journey. Prior to that, he worked as a derivative/strategy trader at KGI Securities and T3 Trading Group in New York. Dave received an MS in Financial Engineering from the University of Connecticut, and both an MS in Optoelectronics/Photonics and a BS in Engineering Science from National Taiwan University. Complementing his analytical nature, Dave is an avid fan of psychology and enjoys listening to others’ life stories, while also relishing basketball, skiing, and hiking in his spare time.
(English Below) 我是誰，取決於我的價值觀，與跟這個世界的連結。
價值觀
我的人生軌跡一直受 Steve Jobs 的幾句話牽絆著：
- Don’t limit your boundaries, always keep an open mind to the world.
你無法預先把現在發生的點點滴滴串聯起來，只有在未來回顧時，才會明白這些看似不相關的點是如何連成一條線，所以必須相信，過去與現在的人生軌跡，會在未來造就更進化的你。必須去相信你的直覺也好、命運也行，或甚至是因緣。這樣的方式從來沒有讓我失望，而是造就了我的生命更加與眾不同。
- Find something you truly love, this is where you’ll shine.
工作會佔據人生很大一部份，如果要對人生滿意，就要去做自己覺得很棒的事。而要成就偉大的事之前，必須先熱愛你正在做的工作。如果還沒找到想做的事，就繼續找，千萬別屈就於自己不喜歡的事。用盡所有心力去找，會找到的。
- In our limited lifetime, there are abundant things to experience.
如果你專注地做一件事情而且結果相當不錯，不應該沈浸在這樣的喜悅太久，而該繼續去投入到下一件很棒的事情，開啟新的體驗。
從這三個價值觀開始，我開始了人生體驗：持續嘗試、努力、體悟。
我與這個世界的連結
從小就特立獨行，不想走大家都走的路。或許是對這世界的好奇，盡可能地去體驗新的感受，去學習的新的事物，去接觸這大到可以容納千奇百怪事物的世界。因為生命與時間很有限，期望在每一個當下，都不會後悔正在做的事情，哪怕是痛苦但有意義的。
一次又一次，在人生的十字路口上，聆聽自己內心的聲音，不做別人認為你該做的事，哪怕這條路上只有我自己，也甘之如飴。因為，每一次新的體悟，都會帶來新的價值觀，新的價值觀會幫助你做好下一個選擇，持續循環。
高中時因為數學好，所以選擇了理組，自然而然地在大學進入理工科。然而，Robert T. Kiyosaki 的著作《窮爸爸與富爸爸》，開啟了我全新的視野：透過被動收入增加人生選擇權，了解理財是「每個人」不可避免的課題；越早讓資金、經驗、知識開始複利，用長期的思維去理解，先把一些 Must Do List 做完，慢慢貼近想做的事情。
於是，我產生了新的價值觀，這個價值觀帶我走上了一條全然不同的路：在台大電資學院畢業後，多數同學走進台積電，我毅然決然地走向了金融領域，花了 15 年去實踐自己的選擇。
在 14-15 年交易與投資生涯中，我試著用不同的角度去切入市場，曾在台灣經歷過證券研究員，紐約 T3 Trading 擔任策略交易員、KGI 證券自營部擔任衍生性商品交易員，隨後加入新創圈，兼任 FinTech 新創 TRUBUZZ 投資部負責人，同時自行經營投資事業。
我用大數據的分析去處理量化交易，以數學去計算每一筆交易的期望值，善於掌握市場情緒去找到賺錢的機會，也學習總體經濟與產業分析去了解由上而下的脈絡，並同時透過由下而上的投資思路去推演公司的商業價值，更用新創的思維去理解受市場喜愛的產品，與作為一個創業者需要具備的能力。我找到我熱愛的事情，以做為一個通才為樂趣，學習用不同的視角去看待同一個市場。
巴菲特的合夥人查理．蒙格 (Charles T. Munger) 曾說：「當你會同時用不同框架來思考，或是集合不同領域的專業時，你的能力會有加乘效應，合起來比個別領域相加還高，這稱之為魯拉帕路薩效應。」我相信只要在不同人生階段都用心投入，基於不同的選擇，最後會造就出與眾不同的能力。
在金融市場的教育下，坦然接受事情的不可控制性，包容各種的不可預測性，在每一個看似相似實則不同的職涯中去學習新的視野，也從每一次的市場興衰去體會人生的下坡路怎麼走。
然而，生活的變故帶來了新的價值觀。
2019年，我待了 3 年的新創公司，創辦人心肌梗塞驟然離世。作為他身邊最親近的人，也是最後一個看到他的人，我不得不重新思索人生的先後順序，也需要重新探索自己。
我花了 2 年半的時間全力經營自己的事業，也認識許多厲害的創業者。同時，也在這段時間涉略各式各樣的書籍，從知名企業家的傳記、人類的歷史探索、心理學的奧妙，到老子與聖嚴法師的價值觀、房地產建設的產業研究等。與此同時，經營社群媒體、參與個人創業投資、擔任新興金融科技的顧問。
在這過程中，我重新找到自己認同的價值：只要你身邊的人因為你而更好，你就會快樂。有什麼是比真心的快樂更重要的事呢？拋下人類喜歡證明自己的習慣，專注在幫助別人的過程，於是我來到 AppWorks，用另一個角度參與新創圈。我花了十幾年找到之於自己的 PMF，就像一個創業者之於產品的熱情。我是 Dave，歡迎來 AppWorks 和我聊聊。
Who I am is determined by my values and connection to the world.
My Core Values
The trajectory of my life has been led along by these quotes from Steve Jobs.
- Don’t limit your boundaries, always keep an open mind to the world.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
- Find something you truly love, this is where you’ll shine.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
- In our limited lifetime, there are abundant things to experience.
“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”
Starting from these three core values, my life experience begins with continuous experimentation, hard work, and comprehension.
My Connection to the World
Maybe I have been rebellious and free-spirited since I was a child. I don’t take the path that most people seem to take, maybe because of my curiosity about the world. I am eager to experience as much as possible, absorbing emotions I have never experienced before, to learn new things that I like, and to touch upon the vast knowledge of this world, which is big enough to accommodate all kinds of unusual things. Because life is short and unexpected, I wish to do something even if it is painful, as long as I don’t have any regrets.
Again and again, when standing at a crossroad in my life, I’ll always listen to my inner voice and not follow the path others suggest I take. I would gladly endure even though there is no one else on the same journey, because the new comprehension will bring me new core values and fresh outlook on life, it would help me make good decisions for my next journey.
Since I am proficient at mathematics, I chose to enter science group in high school and naturally ended up in the science & engineering department in college. However, the values of the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki opened up a new level of thinking when I was a student. To increase life choices through passive income, and understanding that financial management is an inevitable lesson in everyone’s life; the sooner you let your finances, experience, and knowledge compound and accumulate, and using long-term thinking to understand that there are some must-do things in life to accomplish first, then you can gradually move closer to what you want to do.
As a result, I formed new values that led me to a completely different path. After graduating from National Taiwan University with a degree in the Electronics Engineering department, most of my classmates went into TSMC. I took a completely different path and decided to pursue finance and spent fifteen years practicing it in the industry.
In the 15 years of my trading and investment career, I tried to cut into the market from different angles. I have experience as a security researcher in Taiwan, a strategy trader in T3 Trading in New York, a derivatives trader in KGI Securities Proprietary Department, then served as the head of the investment department of FinTech startup TRUBUZZ, and also operated my own investment business.
I leverage big data analysis to conduct quantitative strategic trading, and calculate the expected value of each trade. It helps me capture market sentiment to find opportunities for profit. I also study macroeconomics and industry analysis to adopt a top-down approach. I deduce the business value of a company through bottom-up value investing research, and use innovative thinking to understand which products are loved by the market, and the capabilities that an entrepreneur needs to have to succeed. I found what I love, and I take pleasure in being a polymath, constantly learning to view the market from a different perspective.
Buffett’s partner, Charlie Munger once said: “If you are able to think from different frameworks, or gather specialties from different fields, your abilities will have a multiplier effect, which will be better than the sum of individual field. This is called ‘Lollapalooza Effect’ “ I believe that as long as you put your head and heart into different life stages and try hard to learn something from it, you will eventually cultivate a unique ability.
After being trained in the financial markets for years, I can calmly accept that life is uncontrollable, and tolerate all kinds of unpredictability. Explore new horizons in every career that look similar but are actually different, and learn how to rebound from every market downturn.
Yet a realization brought me new values.
I was working in a startup for three years when our founder suddenly died from a heart attack. It gave me a whole new perspective on life watching someone very close to me ending their life without any warning. After that, I decided to spend two and a half years running my own business, finding ways to meet many great founders, and also exploring more about myself. I love to read, so during this period I read a variety of books. From biographies of well-known entrepreneurs to historical explorations of humanity and the secrets of psychology, from the values of Lao Tzu and Master Sheng Yan. Meanwhile, I was managing my own financial page on social media, pursued venture capital investments in real estate, and served as a consultant for a fintech company.
During this time, I was able to discover more of my life’s purpose and values. As long as the people around you are better because of you, you will be happy. What is more important than genuine happiness? Leave the human habit of proving yourself behind and focus on the process of helping others. So I joined AppWorks to participate in the startup industry from another perspective. It took me more than ten years to find my product-market-fit, just like an entrepreneur’s passion for their product. I’m Dave, please feel free to talk to me and I’ll be happy to listen.
