Hi there,
We are officially back in action after an amazing summer. No better way to start our semester. We start with our Mentorship Kickoff, Demo Day, and well, this newsletter.
“You are perfectly cast in your life. I can't imagine anyone but you in the role. Go play.”
― Lin-Manuel Miranda
Top 5
🕵️♂️ The best success stories seem to always come as a result of hard work and luck. That luck typically comes in the shape of a person. What doesn't necessarily happens is the spark to capitalize on that luck. Zach's story on GQ is a testament to that journey. Read “Who is Zach Bia”.
🎯 ‘It’s commonly known that traction is the Holy Grail for early-stage startups. But, unfortunately, the real methods for getting traction are not commonly shared’ luckily NFX shares their top picks in “Traction Tactics”.
🚀 I spend way too much time unbundling productivity. Hacks and twists to get stuff done. And the conclusion is typically the same: do meaningful work (when you actually want to). Aaron Schwartz decomposes productivity in “HOWTO: Be more productive”.
🔍 There are certain questions you need to answer about your potential customers before deciding the best way to capture them. Lenny did a whole breakdown on “How People Discover New Products”. Be patient and read all the way to the end for the questions that need answers.
🚲 So far we've looked at commerce, from an online vs. physical experience. But that's where we purchase the goods. What if there is more to the commerce question? What if we need to look at the logistics behind the products and not only the placing of them? That's what Benedict Evans unveils in “Boxes, trucks, and bikes”.
Events
Mentorship Kickoff (Students-Only Tonight!):
Tonight we start our mentorship meetups. Just as every semester, we launch with our student-only event. If you are a motivated student exploring the value of building relationships with experts who have experienced what you are currently experiencing, then our Mentors Program is here for you. You can enroll here. Take the leap!
Demo Day
Are you an active startup investor? Then come and join our investor community hearing the pitches from our Andrews Launch Accelerator Summer Batch. Please register here.
The Scoop
Callin
Callin was founded by David Sacks (founding COO of PayPal; founder of Yammer, which sold to Microsoft for $1B+), and recently raised $12M from some of the top VC firms. They are interested in hiring NC State backend engineers. Take a look here.
That's it for today. See you next week.