Chen grew up in Beijing, China and attended Beijing Agricultural University for a degree in agricultural meteorology. A difficult environment for starting and growing businesses in the mid-1980's China was the driving force that led Chen to come to America in search of better opportunities. In 1990 he founded CID, Inc., a business dedicated to developing scientific instruments for agricultural research. Specific inventions in the field included a plant canopy analyzer and a water activity meter (for Decagon Devices).In 2003 Chen founded Inventist, Inc., a company he started as an avenue with which he could develop more mainstream ideas and inventions. Entering the retail marketplace in '03, Chen introduced the AquaSkipper, a human-powered hydrofoil watercraft. Success with the AquaSkipper enabled Chen to develop other consumer products, most notably the Solowheel and Hovertrax.
