Crossing the Swamp: My Path to Innovating as a Parallel Entrepreneur

1st Place Winner - Best Business Book --- Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2024.

John Shen is unique among American entrepreneurs. Founder of five startups, he is a “parallel entrepreneur,” going far beyond the usual model of being a solo or serial entrepreneur. He is a first-generation entrepreneur who came to the US at the age of 23 and achieved the American Dream of success. Along the way, he also experienced total business collapse and knows what it is like to come back from failure, to “cross the swamp.”

In this book, John recounts his dramatic life story and the three phases of his extraordinary entrepreneurial journey to success. Through the chapters, he details the eight personal and business qualities that entrepreneurs must develop in order to achieve their highest goals. The book also contains John's advice on the special challenges faced by first-generation immigrant entrepreneurs.

JOHN SHEN is unique among American entrepreneurs. He is the founder of five companies and currently operates four of them simultaneously. He coined the term “parallel entrepreneur,” referring to entrepreneurs who, like himself, choose to launch and operate multiple companies simultaneously. His entrepreneurial leadership has propelled his businesses on the fast track to success. Two of his companies, ALC and Sunstone have been listed among “America’s Fastest Growing Companies” by Financial Times since 2021. He is a co-founder of the Long Beach Accelerator.