Welcome back to the Sunstone Way.
May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) month. That’s a big deal here at Sunstone, and not just because our founder John Shen was born and grew up in China.
Much of the work we do – Sunstone Management and American Lending Center – is with the AANHPI community. About 90% of the American Lending Center team are Asian American, and Sunstone Management’s staff is about 50% Asian.
That puts us in a great position to serve and partner with the fastest growing segment of the American population. That’s right, the AANHPI population is making up an ever-increasing portion of Americans, according to both the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pew Research Center.
A set of statistics recently published in the Long Beach Press Telegram newspaper shows that AANHPI people will be 29% of the population in 2025 and grow to be 36% by 2055 (and 38% in 2065). The Hispanic community is the largest segment of the population now at 43%, but that percentage shrinks as the years go by, with the AANHPI community overtaking it between 2045 and 2055.
Positioned To Help
Why does that matter? In 2019, immigrants from Asia had a median annual household income of $88,000 compared to $66,000 for U.S.-born households and $64,000 for immigrant households from other countries. Immigrants from India are on top of the list with an average income of $132,000 a year.
These immigrants live all over the country, but they congregate primarily in three places – the greater Los Angeles area, New York City and San Francisco. Sunstone is headquartered in Irvine, our partner Lair East Labs is in the center of New York City and another exciting capital partner—soon to be announced in the coming year—lives in San Francisco.
ALC’s board member Simon Pang is a current commissioner of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPI.
John Shen found his way to America via education, with a master’s degree from Duke University, and has spent much of his adult life helping others from Asia make the move as well. Today, we partner with that community first and foremost to realize their own American Dream. We are always pleased and proud to celebrate the ways that Sunstone helps immigrants contribute to the American economy and specifically entrepreneurship. This month, we are particularly proud to celebrate our contributions to Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Month.
It’s the Sunstone Way.
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More About Sunstone Management
Sunstone Management is a diversified private capital sponsor firm located in Southern California that invests in diverse early-stage technology entrepreneurs who seek to build great companies. We believe in the aspirational power of the American economy to attract and inspire investors and entrepreneurs from throughout the world. We deliver new and exciting opportunities for economic growth through the creation of innovative public-private partnerships, and our unique experience across government, education, and private sectors. Identified by Financial Times as one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row.