David Liu’s story is anything but predictable. Born in Queens and raised in Westchester, he went from being one of only a handful of Asian kids in his school—navigating racism in 1970s New York—to studying film at NYU, launching CD-ROM projects with the Smithsonian, and co-founding The Knot, one of the first big internet media brands and taking it public right before the dot.com bubble burst.
In this conversation, David shares how film school shaped his entrepreneurial mindset, the serendipitous meeting that turned “the worst idea AOL ever heard” into a $1.6M investment, and why storytelling is the most underrated skill in business. We talk about building one of the first online ad models, bluffing with confidence, creating the universal wedding registry before e-commerce was mainstream, and how his journey as a founder, restaurateur, and oyster farmer always comes back to creativity and adaptability.
Whether you’re a founder, creator, or just love a good origin story, this episode is packed with lessons on resilience, reinvention, and the power of narrative.
