Impressive. Bright thinker. Self-motivated. Go-to partner. Leader.

These are words from colleagues when asked to describe Penn State alumnus Daehee Park ’09, whose self-proclaimed passions include “high-risk startups, performance marketing and 'creating unfair advantages with data.’” At just 24 years old, Daehee is the owner/co-founder of three companies:

• Obsidian, a research and development lab focused on disrupting traditional verticals;
• Tuft & Needle, an online bed store delivering rejuvenation through minimalist design; and
• Whim Media, a performance marketing agency, which he founded while he was a Penn State student.

Before this, Daehee led the monetization and analytics initiatives at Mulu, a celebrity-supported social platform that raises money for charities, and was a marketing strategy consultant at Acxiom, a global interactive marketing company.

As a Penn State Information Sciences and Technology (IST) undergraduate, Daehee’s entrepreneurial spirit truly blossomed. He was involved in research, served as a teaching assistant for a number of courses and led a team of students to a winning slot in the worldwide Google Online Marketing Challenge.

Even after graduation, Daehee continues to volunteer his time and give back to the Penn State community, serving as a mentor and advisor for students in the Information Sciences & Technology program. He was also recently featured in IST’s iConnect magazine, an issue that showcased young and talented entrepreneurs―and was a featured speaker at IST Startup Week where he shared his experiences with students about the startup life.

“I would not be surprised if I found myself working for him one day,” said one of Daehee’s former colleagues and a senior leader of the company. Pretty impressive, indeed.