Students visited Venn Arts with Jonathan Hecht '04, dev.to with Peter Frank '12, and ZMC with Strauss Zelnick '79. Students were asked for their feedback after the trip. Here are their responses. (Picture above is at dev.to with Peter Frank)

John Lee '21

How did this trip motivate or challenge your ideas on what you want to do in the future?
The trip was meaningful since it was an opportunity for me to visit New York City not just for the sake of touring the sites but to actually see how people worked there. It was simply fantastic to see different stages of start-ups -- a start-up in a small office building, a start-up that shares a building, and a start-up that has a building. Interacting with start-up CEOs in their respective stage of business, I was able to draw a broad outline of how the business worked and how I could do the same thing if I had an idea that I wanted to actualize.

What did you hope to gain out of this trip? Did you find what you expected?
To be honest, I haven't expected much when I had applied to go on the trip. I just wanted to go to New York City and applied since it would be great to do something meaningful there. The trip was absolutely fantastic in the sense that I was able to get so much perspective in just a single day. I would recommend this trip to anyone who would like to see how start-ups work in NYC and the perspective of CEOs running their business.

Which visit did you enjoy most and why?
I liked every visit since they all allowed me to experience different stages of business. The visit I most enjoyed was the last one since it allowed me to visualize how a successful start-up, after several decades, would become.

Kevin Koech ‘21

How did this trip motivate or challenge your ideas on what you want to do in the future?
The trip gave me a slight insight of life after college, and how to navigate through life after college. Through the hosts' anecdotes, I got an almost classic first-hand experience of how what you do in college may or may not have anything to do with what you end up doing.
From the hosts' experiences, I learned some habits of successful people -
aggressive, outgoing, open-minded, enterprising and ambitious.

What did you hope to gain out of this trip? Did you find what you expected?
I hoped to meet successful people with great stories of how they got where they are.
I found what I expected, now I'm working on my own story.

Which visit did you enjoy most and why?
I enjoyed this the second visit most. I like his story -- how he sold his website in his sophomore year, and the projects he is working on at the moment. I was also inspired by his entrepreneurial and ambitious mind.

Hayate Murayama ‘21

How did this trip motivate or challenge your ideas on what you want to do in the future?
It was a motivational experience because they are from Wesleyan. By hearing the stories of Wes alums, I can understand how their experiences in Wesleyan influence their career as an entrepreneur. Then, I can take an action from today in Wesleyan, which is really motivational for future.

What did you hope to gain out of this trip? Did you find what you expected?
I wanted to know how they make use of their experience in Wesleyan for their entrepreneurship. In addition, I was curious about the benefits of running an enterprise in New York. Since it was mainly a Q/A session, I could ask them their thoughts directly. Son, I think I could get what I expected.

Which visit did you enjoy most and why?
I enjoyed the second visit because he was open and offered me a lot of information I was interested in.