.406 Ventures

Austin Kwoun


Analyst

Austin joined .406 Ventures in 2023 as an analyst to support the investment team. 

Before joining .406, Austin completed the first half of his MBA at the Yale School of Management, where he co-founded a company in the healthcare data interoperability space. In building the now-seed-stage business from 0 to 1, Austin learned how to navigate the challenges of implementation and growth in a crowded health data industry.

Prior to that, he was an early hire at a health tech startup called New Amsterdam Genomics, where he oversaw supply chain operations, liaised with providers, and worked closely with the founders to refine the company’s data-driven service. While at Harvard, Austin was part of the five-person student leadership team overseeing 700 employees at Harvard Student Agencies, which is the largest student-run business in the world. 

Austin received his BA in Social Studies with a focus in Public Health from Harvard College and expects to complete his MBA at Yale School of Management in 2025.

Austin is a rabid Red Sox fan and couldn't be happier working at a firm built in the image of The Splendid Splinter.  He also loves playing the violin.

Meet More of the .406 Team

  • How I want entrepreneurs to perceive me

    Willing and itching to help out with anything!

  • Favorite book

    Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Not to be confused with Kathryn Reddy’s top pick, The Emperor of All Maladies, though it’s also a favorite.

  • Favorite destination

    Fenway Park. My ideal getaway is 9 innings long.

  • What you’ll find me drinking

    Doesn’t matter, I’ll be asleep within the hour.

  • Favorite website

    Pitchbook (it giveth me more than it taketh away).

  • Favorite wheels

    The MBTA, warts and all. I lived in a transit desert for one year — never again.

  • Fond childhood memory

    Biking up and down Memorial Drive on sunny summer Sunday afternoons.

  • Grew up in

    Boston. What gave it away?

  • Hidden talent

    I used to be an accomplished competitive violinist. The talent gets more and more hidden every day.

  • Most important lesson learned

    KISS — Keep it simple, stupid. Still working on it.

  • Peak of my athletic career

    Got plunked by a guy who now pitches for the Arizona Diamondbacks, then got pulled from the game in agonizing pain and never faced him again. Let’s see Teddy Ballgame touch my 1.000 on-base against professional players.

  • Why I chose VC

    Tried my hand at being a founder during my MBA; was more impressed by other people’s ideas than my own. I decided I wanted to put my weight behind that ingenuity, and .406 gives me a once in a lifetime chance to do that.

  • Who would play you in your life movie

    My head says Daniel Dae Kim, my heart says Daniel Day Lewis, and my sister says I don’t have the bone structure to warrant either.

  • Still on your bucket list

    Become a doctor of something.

  • You are most proud of

    My younger sister. Me, but better in every way.

  • Your nickname

    Rich Homie Kwoun, an homage to a rapper who I’ve literally never heard of outside of this nickname.

  • Most unusual thing in your office

    A life-sized body pillow of my childhood self. A gag gift, but one that I treasure (and keep out of my Zoom background at all costs).

  • If I could go back in time, I would go to

    1970s South Korea. I want to see a commercial metropolis rise from the earth beneath my feet in real time.