Founding Team @ Bitcasa
From July 2011 to January 2015, I was a founding team member at Bitcasa, a cloud storage startup that aimed to revolutionize how people store and access their files.
Company Success
Bitcasa achieved significant milestones during its growth:
- Raised $20 million from premier investors
- Andreessen Horowitz - Leading Silicon Valley VC firm
- Horizons Ventures - Li Ka-shing’s investment arm
- First Round Capital - Prominent early-stage fund
- Reached $2M in Annual Recurring Revenue
- Achieved 500,000 Monthly Active Users at peak
Technical Contributions
Multi-Platform Client Development
- Developed Windows, macOS, and Linux clients using C/C++ and Objective-C
- Built Android app using Java
- Ensured consistent experience across all platforms
macOS Innovation
- Found a novel method to inject into macOS Finder’s runtime process
- Rendered custom assets directly on top of Finder’s interface
- Created seamless integration with the native file browser
Infrastructure & Operations
- Architected multi-platform system for auto-updating clients
- Built comprehensive crash reporting and log collection on AWS
- Developed on-premise CI/CD pipeline based on Jenkins
- Created automated white labeling system for enterprise deployments
International Expansion
- Led extensive internationalization initiative
- Enabled support for multiple languages and regions
- Helped secure major contracts with Samsung and 3Telecom through localization efforts
Role & Responsibilities
As a founding team member, I wore many hats:
- Core engineering across desktop and mobile platforms
- Designed company branding and UI/UX
- Recruited engineers and designers to build the team
- Contributed to product strategy and technical architecture
Impact
Bitcasa demonstrated the potential of cloud storage at a time when the market was still emerging. The $20M in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and other top-tier VCs, combined with hundreds of thousands of active users, validated both the market opportunity and our execution. The technical innovations, particularly the macOS Finder integration, showcased the team’s ability to solve complex problems with elegant solutions.