Happy New Year friends,
We are officially back in action at State. Classes kick off next week, which means our project applications are still open. The Mentors Program is back in a few weeks with an improved approach. The Accelerator applications are coming soon under a new structure. We are excited.
It's been an interesting past couple of weeks for me. I was out with Covid. The two weeks out were a reminder of the times we are living in and the many misconceptions that still exist around the disease.
For me, beyond the physical struggles and realization that most people don't really know what they're talking about, there were a few main takeaways.
1- Precautions only go so far. Over the past year, I took extreme measures to shield from the disease. Our best guess of where we got it was at a Christmas dinner where almost everyone had already gotten past it and we were wearing our masks. Maybe someone had it again or a person that did test positive, but we did not interact with, found a way to leave the virus where we picked it up.
2- It gets out of control(fast!). It's a virus. In three days between we (4 people staying together) incubated it and my wife tested positive, 5 other individuals got it from us. Luckily we did some contact tracing and got it under control quickly. But I got all the symptoms and never tested positive. It shows how quickly it can get to someone with pre-existing conditions and turn into very bad news without ever being sure what happened. Glad it's been all good news this time.
3- You truly don't know what you have until you lose it. One of the joys I find in life is drinking coffee. I know it's weird. It seems like something so small but with no taste or smell for 10 days after any symptoms I'm out here wondering when will it come back. I'm making the best out of it by eating all my greens and making it a game, so I'm perfectly fine. But I can see how this or one of the other post-virus effects can affect someone else. I know people who lost their smell for 6 months and young friends who can barely go up the stairs and catch their breath. A fun fact I learned was that lab mice get their ability to smell removed to take them into a depressive state and try anti-depressant efficacy on them. If this small price to pay can cause that pain, then all other scenarios that sound worse than losing your smell are just not worth it.
My hope is simply that this serves as a reminder to be thankful today for whatever you have and even though this crazy journey is not over yet, I'm here to give you strength and wish you an amazing 2021 surrounded by your loved ones.
“Effective performance is preceded by painstaking preparation”.
Brian Tracy
TOP 5
🔥 I think most insiders would agree that no company has taken on the challenge of both internal and external ambiguity like Shopify. The company is a remarkable feat of entrepreneurship. In The Observer Effect's latest feature, Shopify's founder & CEO Tobi Lutke takes a deep dive into his approach to life and company building. He goes from theme-based days and non-complacency, to professionalism as infantilization that kills a company and videogames. It's a soothing reflection of what a true leader looks like.
🎯 The right portfolio of projects maintained correctly will always pay off. At least that's what Seth Godin implies in his “2 X 2 for Choices”. I love this take and it's simplicity. Let's apply it to our projects this year.
📈 Some of our best students have worked with sports teams. Their role is typically the same: data analyst. We can't escape the new metrics created in sports over the last decades and how teams use them as a competitive advantage to win. That's exactly what The Huddle brings us today in “The Analytical Revolution Continues”.
💰 With the release of Stacks 2.0, I think today marks one of the most important days ever for bitcoin. You can dig more into the specifics through Fred Wilson's comments or directly at their launch page. But I think today's event deserves a quick reminder of what DeFi is and why it is important.
💤 In 2018 my favorite read was “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker. It opened my eyes to sleep as one of the key pillars of a healthy life. You can't be healthy without the right food, exercise, and the right amount of sleep. Oura, Whoop, Hatch, and EightSleep are just some of the companies thriving due to the awareness of our collective lack of sleep. To help a bit, Matteo Franceschetti, founder of Eight Sleep brings us “My Top 8 Sleep Hacks for 2021”. Happy snoozing.
EVENTS
Our Mentorship Events are around the corner. Our game plan is to host a monthly event starting on February 7th and gather to share mentorship insights while enabling meaningful serendipity. If you want to participate in our mentorship events this year, please update your profile or create one on eConnect. More to come over the next few weeks.
Chat with Eric Happel. Eric currently works at Nike setting strategy and guidelines for Nike partner stores in over 30 countries around the world. Nike partner stores are owned and operated by third parties but offering only Nike products and services.
THE SCOOP
We have many awesome roles featured on our jobs platform powered by Scoutr. You can find how to get involved and look for a gig or post a role here.
Some external roles:
Female Founders Fund - Intern
FFF is seeking to hire an MBA intern who will work to complete market research, funding research, and analysis. You will work closely with the investment team and help publish external-facing reports. Ideal candidates are passionate about our mission, are comfortable working autonomously, enjoy research, and can develop an informed POV. This is a part-time project-based role (~10 hours/week) that can be done remotely. FFF is also willing to support receiving class credit if desired.
Mann + Hummel - Venture Lead
This Venture Lead position operates within i2M LLC and dedicated to the Senzit HD business. The successful candidate will have ownership for all areas of the business and must ensure the development of all commercial and technical solutions needed. Responsibilities include market identification, customer development, product definition, technical development execution, budget forecasting and performance.
I blame Covid for any typos. See you next week!
