Welcome back to The Sunstone Way.
We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary as Sunstones – an accomplishment since only one-third of small businesses make it to their 10th year, according to a Lending Tree study. Founder John Shen’s premise for Sunstone Management was a business based on and supportive of innovators and entrepreneurs – something that has been our guiding light for a decade.
Always Evolving
In the beginning, Sunstone Management was seen as a parallel to American Lending Center, Shen’s first business in his current portfolio. Both were immigrant investment services.
“As ALC started to grow, more investors told me they wanted to have options,” Shen said. “I’ve always wanted to help small businesses and entrepreneurs, and they (the investors) said they wanted to look at early-stage Venture Capital.”
It quickly became apparent that diverse options would be key, and Sunstone expanded its vision. Chances to participate in venture capital for early-stage startups were available, particularly through public-private partnerships with universities like Cal State Long Beach.
What’s A Sunstone?
Shen said that he wanted the new firm’s name to be something short and easy to remember. The word stone seemed popular in other firm names – “it is something solid, hard, not easy to change,” he said.
The sunstone is not as well-known as some other stones and gems, but it made sense for Shen’s vision for the new company.
“It brings a feeling that it is bright, that there is happiness and hope,” Shen said.
When I came on board a few years ago, I did a little more research, discovering a sunstone tie to my Scandinavian heritage. It turns out that sunstones were used by Viking explorers to help navigate during their ocean voyages, particularly when the sun was behind clouds.
A tool to help lead the way when the surroundings are dark – it is exactly the metaphor we need to explain what Sunstone does.
Stretching Our Wings
While investment management was and is central to Sunstone, we began exploring other ways to fulfill our mission of enriching our communities. We opened an economic development branch to help further partnerships between local governments and the private sector. Then we added our secret sauce – knowledge of how those partnerships could move the economy forward faster than working alone.
More recently, we’ve created an entirely separate entity called Sunstone Cities to handle the consulting and connecting that make these partnerships work. A Public Infrastructure Financing Program to open the capital resources spigot has been added.
As the company evolved, Shen’s basic principles remained central.
“I’m a firm believer in public-private partnerships,” Shen said. “We’re here to grow businesses, build programs and help economic development. The government wants job creation… We all want small businesses to grow.”
Future Philosophy
Through ALC, Shen began focusing on technology and clean energy as ways to make the world a better place going forward. High-tech agricultural approaches like vertical farming caught his eye, as did clean energy generation from geothermal, wind and a unique system creating energy from the temperature difference at various ocean depths.
Sunstone followed that lead, and I became and advocate for a clean energy strategy that will be key to the world going forward. Even a continued push to use fossil fuels won’t generate the energy we need in the future – it’s time to develop sources of clean, abundant energy.
Doing It In The OC
In 2021, Shen decided to move ALC and Sunstone headquarters to the growing city of Irvine in Orange County.
For Sunstone, the move put the company in the center of one of the fastest growing cities in California – it ranked second in the state after the 2020 census. Irvine also was a forward-looking city, particularly when it came to innovation, and high-tech medical innovation in particular.
“The medical device innovation here is simply amazing,” Shen said. “And UCI has become a great partner in many ways as well.”
Joining The Team
In February 2022, John convinced me to come work with him as the CEO and managing partner for Sunstone Management. I was excited about the challenge then, and if anything, I am more excited today about the possibilities here.
Now I’d like to invite you to join us as we journey into the second decade of The Sunstone Way. It’s going to be an interesting ride!
And remember, always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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©Sunstone Management, Inc. 2025