From monkhood to tech founder: Lilly Chen’s startup challenges Accenture in government contracts

Lilly Chen dropped out of high school at sixteen to join a Buddhist monastery in rural China after battling Graves' disease and limited healthcare. The two-year monastic experience taught her deep listening and a systems-thinking mindset, epitomized by a monk’s advice to “be the pond, not the fish.” Returning to the United States, she earned a GED, scored a 36 on the ACT, and was admitted to Colorado College, where she taught herself software development.

Post-graduation, Chen spent a brief period as an engineer at Meta before founding FSH Technologies, a company that modernizes outdated government IT systems for cities, school districts, and state agencies. FSH has raised a total of $25 million, including a $20 million Series A led by Lachy Groom and a prior $5 million seed round backed by Contrary, Acrew, General Catalyst, Scribble, and Basis Set Ventures. The firm differentiates itself from consulting powerhouses like Accenture by eliminating billable hours and sales staff, focusing instead on end-to-end solutions built by its technical team. Chen hopes continued success will make the advantages of her model undeniable to risk-averse public-sector clients.