From Monk To Startups: One Founder’s Unusual Path To Building Government Software

Lilly Chen, the co-founder and CEO of FSH Technologies, embarked on an unconventional journey from monk to startup founder. At the age of 16, Chen was institutionalized for Graves' disease and her mother suggested they move to China so she could become a monk. After two years of monastic life, she returned to the U.S., homeschooled herself, and enrolled at Colorado College without a high school diploma. Chen graduated in 2019 with a double major in mathematics and economics.

During her college years, Chen briefly played Dota 2 professionally and had an early encounter with AI technology when she played against OpenAI's game-playing bots. After leaving her job at Facebook, she didn't initially have a specific startup idea but was driven by a desire to find work she believed in. This led her to FSH Technologies, a Philadelphia-based company that builds software to address some of the government's least glamorous tasks, such as administering school food services and managing public records.

Chen's motivation to build government software stemmed from her belief that solving everyday problems, even if they didn't generate much excitement, could have a significant impact. She drew inspiration from a monastic experience where she was asked whether she saw himself as the fish or the pond. This question stayed with her and influenced her approach to addressing complex administrative processes within governments.

Through an introduction by Envision, a student-run accelerator, Chen connected with Contrary, a venture firm that supported her startup journey. Contrary invested in FSH in 2021, even before Chen had a fully developed company pitch. The company raised $25 million in total funding, including a $20 million Series A round led by Contrary. Chen's passion for solving meaningful problems and her background as a monk shaped FSH Technologies' mission to tackle the unsexy but essential tasks in the government sector.