Team Member Spotlight: Ken Lu

What do you do when you discover you love balancing equations in high school math class? For Ken Lu, the original answer was to pursue an academic career in chemistry. The Bay Area native studied the discipline in college and originally thought about becoming a pharmacist.

“I was working as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens when I realized it wasn’t for me,” Lu said. “All the extra time in school and debt and then dealing with insurance and paperwork didn’t appeal and that’s when I started to teach myself to code.”

“I felt right at home in my first interaction with Robert [Armstrong] and the team,” Lu said. “Appstem’s environment is friendly and laid-back and provides me with a lot of autonomy over my schedule and projects.”

The lack of micromanagement has allowed Lu to thrive. One of his first projects was with an internationally-known client that was developing its very first mobile app during the pandemic. The high profile nature of the project made him a little nervous, but feeling the trust from Appstem’s leadership allowed him to build a lot of confidence - and deliver a great product. The experience clicked with Lu’s independent work style.

“Many of my friends are in a hurry to jump into management,” he said. “I really see myself growing and progressing as an individual contributor and continuing to hone my skills and maybe eventually specializing in one area. Plus, I like the added flexibility.”

The flexibility and work-life balance that Appstem provides has allowed Lu to rediscover a past love - tennis. He was a competitive varsity player in high school and was able to get back on the court during the pandemic with a close group of friends. Now, he looks forward to hitting tennis balls every weekend.

Appstem may have provided Lu the right formula for success.