We are looking for one great business to acquire, operate, and grow.

My name is Tan Nilgianskul (“Tan” pronounced like the color). I grew up watching both my parents run something of their own. One was a structural engineer who went on to run a construction materials distribution business, and the other an environmental engineer who went on to run a local K-6 elementary school.

I completed my undergraduate studies in Materials Science at Cornell and my master’s in Manufacturing Engineering at MIT. At both, I researched and published on electronic devices and fabrication processes.

Along the way, I grew curious about how the rest of the semiconductor industry worked, so I spent the first five years of my career at SanDisk and Apple. My job covered what I like to call the “back-office” responsibilities of making sure our silicon shipped in and out, and on time. This meant revenue planning, factory build and material planning, negotiating supplier contracts, and occasionally sourcing new products.

After COVID, I joined a warehouse services startup as a manufacturing engineering manager because I wanted something more hands-on and entrepreneurial. I started out responsible for assembling, sourcing, and ensuring the quality of any incoming or outgoing hardware.

Successfully helping to launch new product lines and sunset old ones earned me the additional responsibility of managing field operations, which included system integration, maintenance, and customer service at warehouse sites nationwide. I developed a process for entering, maintaining, and exiting customer warehouse sites and, more importantly, a camaraderie with my team members, some of whom I’ve never met in person but shared sleepless nights with to ensure our customers got what they wanted.

I am devoting the next stage of my career to finding one small business that I can learn from, add value to, and run as an owner.

Outside of work, I enjoy playing as well as watching soccer, tennis, and badminton. My favorite indoor hobby is chess.