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Hi everyone – I'm Andrew, 31 years old, graduated from b-school (MBA) in May, and am working on a snack food project. I came across this forum/community while researching for my project, and it’s been great. Big thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge to help newbies like me. Loved both books too.
Some background:
Majored in finance in undergrad and worked in oil trading at an investment back. I liked the energy there, especially during busy days when I was moving fast, but left for a few reasons:
1 – Wanted more fulfilling work. My FTE was when I realized that I didn’t aspire to be any of the senior, wealthy employees that I worked with. I wanted to do something that helps people more directly.
2 – Wanted to develop a broader skillset. I didn’t feel well-positioned to adapt if some market disruption rendered my job obsolete or if I wanted to make a transition to another industry. I left to develop skills that will serve me better in the long-run.
3 – Escape corporate bureaucracy. Senior management blocked me from transferring to other groups on five different occasions (won't bore you with why). I clearly wasn’t in control of my destiny, which I was not okay with. To ensure that never happened again, I figured entrepreneurship was safer than being an employee.
I got my first real taste of entrepreneurship when I worked at a small (6 person) SaaS startup for my summer internship between years 1 and 2. I was hooked. I spent my second year taking entrepreneurship and VC courses, reading books, meeting like-minded people, and trying to come up with my own idea. In the spring, I thought of what I'm working on, did a feasibility study, made a last-minute pitch at my school’s flagship startup competition, and won, which gave me some decent validation (and a small grant).
I’m from NY, went to school in Nashville, and came back to NY after graduation to work on this full time. Moving back was an enormous mistake: it quickly became clear that I prefer living in a smaller city. I also found the entrepreneurial community much more tight-knit and supportive in Nashville; I’ve had trouble finding like-minded people where I am now. Consequently, I’ve felt very isolated, lonely, and depressed since moving back. So I decided to move back to Nashville (end of this week), and even though I’m not there yet, just knowing I'm so close has reawakened me. The energy is back, the synapses are firing, and I’m more excited and productive than I’ve been in a while.
Some key lessons learned so far:
1 – Environment is hugely important. Surround yourself with the right types of people and resources that you’ll need to succeed. A key resource for me is commercial kitchen space, which has been difficult to find here. Nashville, on the other hand, has an awesome, growing culinary incubator that not only provides kitchen space, but also has a great food entrepreneurship community. That will be a game-changer.
2 – Monitor your mental health and stay balanced. I declined a lot of social events because I felt like I should be working on my project all the time. That was a mistake. It just made me feel more isolated, which further sucked the energy away from me. Going forward, I’ll do what I need to do to be happy, even if that means taking a step back for a day or two.
So that’s my story. Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to getting more involved here.
Some background:
Majored in finance in undergrad and worked in oil trading at an investment back. I liked the energy there, especially during busy days when I was moving fast, but left for a few reasons:
1 – Wanted more fulfilling work. My FTE was when I realized that I didn’t aspire to be any of the senior, wealthy employees that I worked with. I wanted to do something that helps people more directly.
2 – Wanted to develop a broader skillset. I didn’t feel well-positioned to adapt if some market disruption rendered my job obsolete or if I wanted to make a transition to another industry. I left to develop skills that will serve me better in the long-run.
3 – Escape corporate bureaucracy. Senior management blocked me from transferring to other groups on five different occasions (won't bore you with why). I clearly wasn’t in control of my destiny, which I was not okay with. To ensure that never happened again, I figured entrepreneurship was safer than being an employee.
I got my first real taste of entrepreneurship when I worked at a small (6 person) SaaS startup for my summer internship between years 1 and 2. I was hooked. I spent my second year taking entrepreneurship and VC courses, reading books, meeting like-minded people, and trying to come up with my own idea. In the spring, I thought of what I'm working on, did a feasibility study, made a last-minute pitch at my school’s flagship startup competition, and won, which gave me some decent validation (and a small grant).
I’m from NY, went to school in Nashville, and came back to NY after graduation to work on this full time. Moving back was an enormous mistake: it quickly became clear that I prefer living in a smaller city. I also found the entrepreneurial community much more tight-knit and supportive in Nashville; I’ve had trouble finding like-minded people where I am now. Consequently, I’ve felt very isolated, lonely, and depressed since moving back. So I decided to move back to Nashville (end of this week), and even though I’m not there yet, just knowing I'm so close has reawakened me. The energy is back, the synapses are firing, and I’m more excited and productive than I’ve been in a while.
Some key lessons learned so far:
1 – Environment is hugely important. Surround yourself with the right types of people and resources that you’ll need to succeed. A key resource for me is commercial kitchen space, which has been difficult to find here. Nashville, on the other hand, has an awesome, growing culinary incubator that not only provides kitchen space, but also has a great food entrepreneurship community. That will be a game-changer.
2 – Monitor your mental health and stay balanced. I declined a lot of social events because I felt like I should be working on my project all the time. That was a mistake. It just made me feel more isolated, which further sucked the energy away from me. Going forward, I’ll do what I need to do to be happy, even if that means taking a step back for a day or two.
So that’s my story. Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to getting more involved here.
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