Most of us have heard the saying: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but in the case of Arnold Kim, it turned out to be the truth. Arnold now runs the extremely successful website MacRumors.com, which gets more than 50 million page views per month, and is a valued mentor here at Startup Virginia. He has been featured in stories by the New York Times, Wired, and even has his own Wikipedia page; but his story starts in a completely different sphere.
MacRumors.com began as merely a hobby, as Arnold took a vested interest in the fast pace of the technology world. He had just graduated medical school when he started the site in 2000. At the time, Apple wasn’t nearly as massive a company, but when they moved into the consumer products market they soon went from a niche community of tech fans to a household name. He continued to work on the site through his residency and while treating patients as a nephrologist. As with most startups, the site required enormous amounts of time and energy at the beginning, but it was (and still is) something he loved to do. In 2008, the site had become so successful Arnold decided he no longer wanted to practice medicine, but wanted to pursue MacRumors full time. The site has only continued to grow since then, and they now have a staff of writers and editors that keep it running day to day. That means that according to Arnold, “[his] job is just putting out fires” and keeping tabs on everything.That may leave you wondering, what does he do with his newfound free time? Well, Arnold gets to spend lots of time with his family, enjoys the local food and bar scene (like a bar in Scott’s Addition, where he killed it at Dance Dance Revolution), runs a hilarious Twitter (check it out @arnoldkim), and mentors here at Startup Virginia. He really loves living here in Richmond and wants to promote a stronger tech presence in the area. In his own words, “I’ve been involved in the local startup community, coworking facilities, and tech meetup groups. Being a mentor is a natural extension of that interest”.
With his experience in the startup world, Arnold’s advice to founders is this: be passionate. You have to believe in it, because to make it work you have to have a persistence that can only come with passion.
