Ken Soong

Questioner
DISC Type : c

Director of Data Science at Discord

San Francisco Bay Area, United States

Overview

Ken Soong is the Head of Data Science at Discord, leading teams for Revenue, Core Product, and Marketing. With a Ph.D. from Stanford and extensive experience from LinkedIn in growth strategy, he is a seasoned leader. Colleagues describe him as compassionate, well-rounded, and an excellent storyteller.

Outside of his data science career, Ken was an active tennis player, having participated in the club tennis teams at both Cornell University and Stanford University during his academic years. He also shows a passion for mentoring and supporting his colleagues.

Before entering the tech industry, Kens Ph.D. research at Stanford involved co-authoring a Nature paper on creating a particle accelerator on a chip.

Personality Overview

Systematic

Not Easily Convinced

Cautious & Analytical

They prefer to analyze every situation thoroughly.
  They are more likely than others to negotiate on pricing and terms. While they don't hesitate to ask questions, they are generally risk-averse and tend to be late adopters.

Topics They Care About

Data Science Leadership
He leads data science for Revenue, Core Product, and Marketing at Discord and is praised by former team members for his compassionate and growth-focused management style.
Sustainable Growth
He has authored posts on differentiating between sustainable and momentary growth, a key focus during his time managing growth and strategic markets at LinkedIn.
Virality Mechanics
Has publicly shared his thoughts on using simple equations to complement intuition on viral growth, a topic central to his work at consumer-facing platforms like LinkedIn and Discord.

Media Appearances

Measure Less to Learn More: Using Fewer, Higher‑quality Metrics to Capture What Matters. Featured in Discord Blog

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How Data Science Informs Strategy & Innovation at Discord. Featured in Discord Blog

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Work History

3-2022
Director of Data Science at Discord
3-2019 - 2-2022
Senior Manager, Data Science at LinkedIn
3-2017 - 3-2019
Staff Data Scientist and Tech Lead Manager at LinkedIn
3-2016 - 3-2017
Senior Data Scientist at LinkedIn
9-2014 - 1-2015
Data Science Fellow at Insight Data Science

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Stanford University
Bachelor's Degree from Cornell University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 16 Location : San Francisco Bay Area, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director of Data Science at Discord

Interested in

Sports

Club Tennis

URL has been copied!

Insights For Selling To Ken

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Emphasise more on facts and measurable benefits
  • Keep some extra margin in hand as they will likely negotiate the pricing
  • Emphasize on objective proof of ROI, help them do a thorough evaluation

DONT's

  • Avoid rushing them, be polite and patient
  • Avoid phrases like ‘do not worry about’, ‘no one compares to’ etc.
  • Don’t overhype the product/pitch, keep it measured

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Ken is

  • Confidence that the product provides ROI, effective pricing and process adherence matter the most to them.

  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Ken

  • It doesn’t come naturally to them but they can say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Ken move?

  • They can move at a reasonable pace while making their decisions if they have the necessary information.

  • Can Ken take some risk or not?

  • They can take risk if they are convinced that they have analyzed the circumstances well.


You And Ken

Personality Compatibility


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