Jonathan Ng Sposato on Building the First Asian American TV Channel, JoySauce

Описание: 🎙️ From Apple II Game Developer to Asian American Media Pioneer: Jonathan Ng Sposato's Mission to Transform Cultural Visibility Through JoySauce

In this inspiring episode, Jonathan Ng Sposato, serial entrepreneur and founder of JoySauce—the first Asian American TV channel on Amazon Prime Video—shares his remarkable journey from writing his first computer game at age 13 on an Apple II and selling it through users groups, to building multiple companies acquired by Google and Shutterstock, to co-founding GeekWire as the pivotal gathering point for Seattle's tech community, and now pioneering a groundbreaking media platform dedicated to Asian American content that moves beyond historical narratives of trauma to celebrate joy, swagger, and unapologetic cultural identity. Through candid stories about being sent to Hong Kong at age three to live with his maternal grandparents after his Chinese American mother couldn't afford to raise him (his Korean American father wasn't allowed to marry her in 1966), not realizing he was half Korean until much later in life, starting his first games company at 22 when his parents divorced and he walked away from Columbia Law School with $26 in his bank account eating Top Ramen, and getting brutally attacked by his own community for having non-Asian team members on the JoySauce about-us page, Jonathan reveals why Asian Americans represent 18% of Seattle's population but less than 3% of speaking roles in TV and movies, why he believes the "Slaysians" (style-conscious 18-35 explorers) and "Rising Suns" (socially conscious 35-55 change-makers) are ready for media that celebrates rather than apologizes, why converting Asian American financial capital ($2 trillion annual spending power) into cultural capital requires platforms that walk with more swagger and dance with more joy, and how his Italian American last name, his white wife, and being told "you're using yellow which is racist" taught him that being provocative and standing with stature means not everyone will like your truth—and that's okay.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:
Half Chinese, half Korean, born London 1967, raised Hong Kong by maternal grandparents ages 3-9, reunited with mother in Seattle suburb
Chinese American mother and Korean American father not allowed to marry in 1966, born out of wedlock, sent to Hong Kong when mother couldn't afford childcare
First computer game written age 13-14 on Apple II, sold through users group, connected with Synergistic Software (tens of millions revenue)
Gaming industry normalized unconventional career paths—not med school, law school, or traditional engineering
Founded Picnik (XML platform/photo editor), sold to Google—noticed gap between desktop and cloud during transition

🌟 Jonathan's Key Mentors & Influences:
Bob Clardy (Synergistic Software Founder/CEO)
Bill Gates Internet Memo (1997)
Mike Arrington (TechCrunch Founder)
Don Norman (Emotional Design Philosophy)
Jonathan's Mother
Jonathan's Wife (White/Non-Asian)
Asian American Community Trolls

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about why celebrating one group doesn't denigrate another, how childhood trauma of being sent away can actually build resilience.

🔗 Connect with Jonathan Ng Sposato:
Instagram: @JonathanSposato (best way to connect) 

📄 Transcript Available: Jonathan Ng Sposato on Building the First Asian American TV Channel, JoySauce 

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Hashtags: #AsianAmericanMedia #JoySauceTV #AAPIRepresentation #CulturalCapital #SerialEntrepreneur #GeekWire #InspiredStoriesPodcast