Pao successfully cofounded two previous entrepreneurships: Draker Electronics, a semiconductor distribution company that sources Chinese manufacturers to the U.S., and Willem-Aidan, a high-end floral design company in San Diego, California. He also worked as manager of financial planning and analysis at International Rectifier, and as manager of business planning and development at Baxter Healthcare.
Pao received his bachelor of science degree in business-economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.