Yu-kai Chou (’07)
Yu-kai Chou is an Author and International Keynote Speaker on Gamification and Behavioral Design.
UCLA inspired me to become an entrepreneur and start my first business right during freshman orientation. The business publications on campus further increased my drive to become who I am today.
Yu-kai Chou is an Author and International Keynote Speaker on Gamification and Behavioral Design. He is the Original Creator of the Octalysis Framework, and the author of Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. He is currently President of The Octalysis Group and the Founder of Octalysis Prime, a Gamified Mentorship Platform.
"UCLA inspired me to become an entrepreneur and start my first business right during freshman orientation. The business publications on campus further increased my drive to become who I am today."
Yu-kai has been a regular speaker/lecturer on gamification and motivation worldwide, including at organizations like Google, Stanford University, LEGO, Tesla, TEDx, Boston Consulting Group, Turkish Airline, Huawei, the governments of UK, Singapore, South Korea, Kingdom of Bahrain, and many more. His work has affected over 1 Billion users’ experiences across the world.
Yu-kai was one of the earliest pioneers in Gamification, starting his work in the industry in 2003. In 2015, Yu-kai was rated #1 among the “Gamification Gurus Power 100” by RISE, and was also awarded the “Gamification Guru of the Year” Award in 2014, 2015 and 2017 by the World Gamification Congress and the Gamification Europe Conference. He has helped a variety of companies, from seed stage startups to Fortune 500 companies such as LEGO, Uber, Volkswagen/Porsche, Sberbank, eBay, Fidelity Investments, AIG Japan, Verizon, and more. His work has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, The World Journal, PBS, NBC, and many more.
Previously, Yu-kai was the Chief Experience Officer of the Blockchain company Decentral, working with the Co-Founder of Ethereum Anthony Di Iorio to create delightful Blockchain experiences. Yu-kai sits as a Board Advisor for many organizations and companies throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including Loki Studios (San Francisco, Creators of Geomon and sold to Yahoo), The Multi-Family Office (Zurich Family Fund Management), Ongo Science (Gamified Health), Clade (Exclusive Community for Hundred-Millionaires and Billionaires), Dreamtank (Youth Think Tank), Incentive Holdings (Gamification Platform), Hatchpad.co (Crowdfunding Platform for Young Entrepreneurs), I Fly Young (Children's Creativity School in Fremont, California) and many more.
Yu-kai is a follower of Christ, and his other hobbies include playing/teaching chess, writing/playing string quartet pieces, supporting his Esports Team, rating high-quality movies, though he rarely has time for these hobbies. Yu-kai is the proud father of his twin daughters, Symphony and Harmony.
"UCLA gave me the environment to start my first business during my undergrad freshmen year. It would be a great way to give back and meet other amazing Bruins."
Yu-kai graduated from UCLA in 2007 with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Area Studies.
"UCLA inspired me to become an entrepreneur and start my first business right during freshman orientation. The business publications on campus further increased my drive to become who I am today."
Yu-kai has been a regular speaker/lecturer on gamification and motivation worldwide, including at organizations like Google, Stanford University, LEGO, Tesla, TEDx, Boston Consulting Group, Turkish Airline, Huawei, the governments of UK, Singapore, South Korea, Kingdom of Bahrain, and many more. His work has affected over 1 Billion users’ experiences across the world.
Yu-kai was one of the earliest pioneers in Gamification, starting his work in the industry in 2003. In 2015, Yu-kai was rated #1 among the “Gamification Gurus Power 100” by RISE, and was also awarded the “Gamification Guru of the Year” Award in 2014, 2015 and 2017 by the World Gamification Congress and the Gamification Europe Conference. He has helped a variety of companies, from seed stage startups to Fortune 500 companies such as LEGO, Uber, Volkswagen/Porsche, Sberbank, eBay, Fidelity Investments, AIG Japan, Verizon, and more. His work has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, The World Journal, PBS, NBC, and many more.
Previously, Yu-kai was the Chief Experience Officer of the Blockchain company Decentral, working with the Co-Founder of Ethereum Anthony Di Iorio to create delightful Blockchain experiences. Yu-kai sits as a Board Advisor for many organizations and companies throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including Loki Studios (San Francisco, Creators of Geomon and sold to Yahoo), The Multi-Family Office (Zurich Family Fund Management), Ongo Science (Gamified Health), Clade (Exclusive Community for Hundred-Millionaires and Billionaires), Dreamtank (Youth Think Tank), Incentive Holdings (Gamification Platform), Hatchpad.co (Crowdfunding Platform for Young Entrepreneurs), I Fly Young (Children's Creativity School in Fremont, California) and many more.
Yu-kai is a follower of Christ, and his other hobbies include playing/teaching chess, writing/playing string quartet pieces, supporting his Esports Team, rating high-quality movies, though he rarely has time for these hobbies. Yu-kai is the proud father of his twin daughters, Symphony and Harmony.
"UCLA gave me the environment to start my first business during my undergrad freshmen year. It would be a great way to give back and meet other amazing Bruins."
Yu-kai graduated from UCLA in 2007 with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Area Studies.