Steven Zhou | Moov
STEVEN ZHOU
Co-Founder & CEO of Moov, the fastest growing marketplace for used manufacturing equipment in the world.
What Is Moov? Tell Us All About Your Platform, How It Works, And About The Types Of Companies That Are Your Customers.
At Moov, our goal is to accelerate global manufacturing, R&D, and technological progress by fundamentally improving the supply chain. We are improving the supply chain by making it possible to buy and sell pre-owned manufacturing equipment from any fabrication center in the world in a matter of moments, through our digital marketplace.
Our customers are primarily semiconductor manufacturers, and sometimes equipment refurbishers and brokers. Our customers look to Moov for a trustworthy, reliable, and transparent alternative to the 12-24 month wait times for buying new equipment. We are building a unified global secondary market for supply-chain critical equipment where none exists today – and the historical options for buying used equipment have been plagued with inefficiencies, bad actors, and inaccurate information. With Moov, chipmakers need only to search our global marketplace for the exact tools they need, choose from validated listings from pre-vetted suppliers, purchase their tool, and enjoy an ecosystem of aftermarket service providers to make every aspect of buying equipment - from financing through logistics - seamless.
What Is Your Background? What Led You To Starting Your Own Company, And How Did You End Up In This Space.
I’m originally from Los Angeles, studied Economics at University of California, San Diego, and started my career working in M&A focusing on Industrials, Semiconductors, and Aerospace and Defense. I was attracted to the massive economy that underpins all of the technology we take for granted in our everyday lives and decided to focus on the semiconductor industry, specifically semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Prior to Moov, I spent over a decade in the semiconductor industry, holding senior management roles overseeing deal cycles at two asset trading firms. While working in the industry, my co-founder, Maxam Yeung, and I were struck by the antiquated processes used to buy and sell six-figure high tech manufacturing equipment, and the inefficiencies these processes created. In late 2017, we decided to start Moov to bring automation and digitization to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment supply chain.
What Was The Inspiration Behind The Company Name?
The honest answer is that I had a vivid dream during the early days, and a cow came out and said “Moooov!” But when I woke up, my co-founder and I realized that “Moov” is also a play on “moving” equipment but also speaks to our culture of getting things done. We’re not just moving equipment – we are growing an entire secondary market, and in doing so, moving an entire industry toward a more sustainable supply chain.
What Have Been Both Your Favorite And Least-liked Parts Of Your Entrepreneurial Journey? What Have Been Your Most Challenging And Most Exciting Moments For You And The Company?
The most challenging part of my entrepreneurial journey has been learning to say no. Whether it’s an oversubscribed round, a firehose of ideas for our product roadmap, or simply too many appointments on my calendar, I have learned that prioritization is the number one challenge I face as the CEO of a fast-growing company. I have also learned that prioritization is the most critical element to sustainable growth. On the flip side of this coin, hiring rockstars and watching them grow in their roles and help grow Moov in new ways has been one of my favorite parts of the entrepreneurial journey.
One challenging and exciting moment for Moov was relocating our headquarters from San Francisco to greater Phoenix, Arizona in 2020. At the time, we knew the future of semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. was outside of Silicon Valley – in a network of up-and-coming tech hubs across the country. However, relocating is always challenging – we didn’t know what to expect when it came to hiring in the market, office space, the local technology community culture, etc. That said, I can honestly say that moving to Tempe, Arizona was one of the best moves we have made as a company. Not only are we at the center of a burgeoning semiconductor hub, but also I truly believe that the locations like greater Phoenix, and Austin, TX where we just opened an office this year, will continue to attract top-notch talent due to the better quality of life they offer.
What Was The Fundraising Process Like For You? Tell Us About Your Investors And How You Use The Funds You’ve Raised.
In business, and fundraising, timing is critical. When my co-founder, Max, and I went to raise our seed round, we were ahead of the curve for our industry. Despite being the namesake of Silicon Valley, at the end of 2016 venture capital investment in the semiconductor industry was stagnant, hovering around $1.5bn since 2000 (Pitchbook). As of 2021 year end, that number jumped 400% to $7.8bn.
The primary challenge in raising seed funding was to convince investors of our vision to bring the same data and automation used to drive efficiency across other industries to the semiconductor capital equipment supply chain. We were successful in doing so, and actually ended up having to turn down investors in an oversubscribed round led by NFX with participation by Decent Capital, David Adelman’s Darco Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and several notable angel investors. We welcomed a few strategic investors for a bridge round in 2020 including Mark Cuban, and Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg, co-founders of Flatiron Health.
We used our initial funding to bring on great talent, build our platform, and grow our marketplace to over $1 billion in gross merchandise value of listings.
When we went to raise our series A in 2021, the world was in critical need of nimble solutions to combat supply chain disruptions and chip shortages. Although we received several Tier 1 term sheets, we ended up closing $41 million Series A funding led by Tiger Global. Other notable investors included public semiconductor investor Gavin Baker of Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, Avenir Growth Fund and existing investors. We used these funds to expand operations both in the US and globally, to further ensure semiconductor manufacturers have access to alternative supply sources for capital equipment.
How Has Growth Been Over The Last Year? Anything New And Exciting Launching Soon?
Growth has been exponential over the last year. We recently announced an industry-changing buy-back guarantee policy to de-risk these 6-figure purchases. This is a game-changer for the industry, and the only such policy that exists when buying secondhand equipment. Risk and reliability is the number one barrier to growing the secondary market – with this announcement, Moov is removing that barrier.
How Has COVID-19 And Recent Supply Chain Issues Impacted Your Business And Operation Over The Last Couple Of Years?
When we started Moov in 2017, we knew the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain was broken, but we did not predict the global chip shortages that have plagued our industry for the past year and show no sign of abating. Supply chain issues due to COVID-19 and natural disasters coupled with a surge in end market demand has created a global chip shortage, the likes of which the world has never experienced. These events serve to underscore the dire need for more flexible sourcing options for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. We started Moov to add transparency, accountability, and reliability to the secondary market for manufacturing equipment, and in doing so, help ease barrier to entry for small to midsize manufacturers, allow manufacturers to more nimbly respond to global trends, and promote the recirculation of equipment to support environmentally sustainable manufacturing – these goals are even more relevant and critical today than they were 5 years ago.
Moov has hundreds of buyers and sellers, yet there are still roughly 10 million factories globally with unmet equipment needs and surplus equipment for sale. Recent supply chain disruptions and a global chip shortage have only served to accelerate our growth.
Tell Us About Your Typical Workday Schedule. What Are Your Morning And Evening Routines? What Are Some Tips You Have For Staying Productive?
Lately, it is hard to think of my days as “typical” since I’ve been doing a lot of traveling between our booming headquarters in Phoenix, our brand new office in Austin, TX, and Northern and Southern California, the location of several industry partners, employees, and investors.
When I’m not catching a flight, my day usually begins with a double espresso shot and a morning workout. I’m a big believer in “healthy body, healthy mind”, so I try to make exercise a part of my daily routine no matter how busy I am. I tend to optimize my mornings toward execution-heavy tasks and deadlines, and tackle creative or strategic thinking in the afternoon.
The role of a CEO is really that of Chief Enabler. I spend a significant chunk of each day in listening mode, getting feedback from my talented colleagues across the company, and identifying ways I can remove roadblocks to their success.
What Are The Top Qualities or Skills You Believe Entrepreneurs Need In Order To Be Successful? Also, What Advice Do You Have For Entrepreneurs Who Are Just Starting Out?
Adaptability, Humility, and Drive.
Advice for entrepreneurs just starting out:
Think about value creation in every interaction you have. Whether you’re hiring employees, raising funds, securing customers or partners, you’ll never go wrong if you approach engagements from a mindset of creating mutual benefit.
Surround yourself with people you trust. Then trust them. As a founder, it’s both incredibly hard and incredibly important to take a step back. In the early days, you will wear every hat for your company. You will set the product roadmap, you will be the chief marketer, you’ll be at every sales meeting, be involved in every deal. You will be a graphic designer, an accountant, heck you’ll even be the office maintenance manager and sometimes IT consultant. Now repeat after me: this won’t scale. An important part of growth is bringing in new talent, new ideas, and trusting the people you hire can do the roles you hired them for better than you can.
Perfection is the enemy of progress. As an entrepreneur, it’s likely someone has already quoted Winston Churchill to you, but it’s time to listen. At Moov, we use the 80/20 rule as a general barometer for problem solving. Solve 80% of the problem now, and the rest will come with time and iteration. I can tell you first hand that if we had worried about perfection at Moov, we would not have grown from zero to a marketplace with over $1bn in GMV in under four years.
Any Other Thoughts You Want To Share Relating To Current Events, The Economy, Political Climate, Or Any Other Topic?
The impact of growing a secondary market for capital equipment cannot be understated – doing so will help solve global supply chain shortages, create jobs in manufacturing hubs across the U.S., and contribute to a more environmentally sustainable high tech manufacturing industry.
As a company, Moov contributes to a more environmentally sustainable manufacturing industry – saving ~1MM lbs of scrap from hitting landfills or sitting idle in warehouses every year. Recirculation of capital equipment is an achievable and important part of the circular economy.
What Does Success Mean To You?
Success, for me and for Moov, means creating something that the world truly needs. At Moov, we don’t use words like disruption because our intention is not to interrupt an industry, but instead to use our humble listening skills, our own experiences in the industry, and the technology we’ve built to create value for our partners and customers. Success, for us, means that every decision we make creates value for all parties involved.
“Changing the world” is an often satirized goal of Silicon Valley founders. But, at Moov, global impact has a very specific meaning. Our goal is to accelerate global manufacturing, R&D, and technological progress by fundamentally improving the supply chain. We are improving the supply chain by making it possible and easy to buy and sell pre-owned equipment from any fabrication center in the world in a matter of moments. When we succeed, our success won’t be localized to Silicon Valley, to the United States, to North America, but will truly drive forward global trade and innovation.
This, for me personally and for Moov as a company, is the meaning of success.
