What the City of Startups Taught Me
And the lesson that you should take away
In preparation for this semester, I was extremely excited to be in a startup hub and learn entrepreneurship from the very best. This semester has taught me a vast amount about entrepreneurship and myself.
First, I’ve realized that entrepreneurship isn’t as glamorous as people make it seem. The people who start these billion-dollar companies are not special human beings born with innate abilities to create and sell. What sets them apart is their work ethic and dedication. These founders are will to put in long, grueling hours to succeed in their startup. They are willing to put their lives on the line to succeed at all costs. They are willing to make sacrifices that the ordinary person is not able to make. They believe in themselves and are driven by their passion for their project.
People
San Francisco is filled with great people, but they are not for me. The city is filled with startup culture all around me. I found that many SF people put themselves up on pedestals and believe they are better than those who surround them. I don’t believe that anyone is better than another. We are all humans on this Earth, and I believe everyone should be treated with respect, whether you are a CEO or a homeless person. I want to say that I met some amazing people while I was in San Francisco. I created friendships that I believe will last for a long time. To those people, thank you for being kind and respectful and, most importantly, being you.
The City
Downtown SF has all the big important headquarters of some of the world's biggest companies, yet, all around it sits thousands of homeless people. Billions are being spent on these HQs, yet the areas surrounding them are in terrible condition. This was a huge turn-off to me. I don’t think it is these companies' job to fix this entire problem, but it seemed to me as if nothing was being done to improve these areas and help the gigantic homeless population.
Startup Experience and Learning
This program taught me SO much in regards to creating a startup. I am extremely thankful to all of the program coordinators that put in the work to make this program possible. I also want to extend a huge thank you to all the teachers and speakers within this program who take time out of their busy schedules to share their knowledge and experience with us. What all of you taught me I would hold forever.
Summary of My Semester in San Francisco
Overall, I learned a lot, both about myself and about entrepreneurship. I met some great people but, at the same time, saw the not-so-nice side of humanity. The city of SF is not the city for me, but it was great to experience it; it showed me what not to do and what needs to be fixed in the future. I now feel I have a better base of knowledge to create my startup. To finalize, it was a great experience in all.
To me, people are such a vital aspect of our lives that we take for granted. It isn’t until we have those people removed from our lives that we truly realize the profound impact which they had us on. All of us are experiencing this phenomenon as we shelter in place due to COVID-19. If I were to only pull one lesson from these past 3 months in SF, it wouldn’t be about ninja trick #1. It wouldn’t be about the secret sauce of selling. It wouldn’t be about the best way to pitch to a VC. In retrospect, none of this is important. The most important lesson this past semester taught me is to value the people who surround me. The people who are there by your side no matter what. The people who make you laugh and smile. The people who care more about the size of your heart instead of the size of your bank account. Material things are expendable, but people are not. Oftentimes, we don’t realize this until it is too late. So thank you to those special people who made this past semester one of the best times of my life. I know that someday we will reconnect and do great things.
My main takeaway from this semester: Value People.
*This article was originally published on April 14, 2020
