Students visited Venn Arts with Jonathan Hecht, dev.to with Peter Frank, and ZMC with Strauss Zelnick. Students were asked for their feedback after the trip. Here are their responses.
Maximilien Chong ‘21
How did this trip motivate or challenge your ideas on what you want to do in the future?
I am interested in social entrepreneurship and I have in the past initiated a couple of social impact projects that did not go well. The failures had a detrimental effect on my confidence, self-esteem, and productivity. And, I feel that I still have not fully recovered completely from these. The stories and ideas that were shared during the trip restored some confidence and courage to keep investing in what I think is right, even though at times, as Peter Frank highlighted, everything does not always go as planned. Failures are bound to happen, and sometimes we need to let go of old projects and invest in new or improved ones.
All three speakers also spoke about how entrepreneurship is not only about what you want to do, but about the intersection between what you want to do and what society needs. This is an important factor that I might have neglected and that I should consider from now on.
What did you hope to gain out of this trip? Did you find what you expected?
I really did not have any expectations for the trip, and it did not deceive me. All the insights gained were fruitful.
Which visit did you enjoy most and why?
I have no preference between the visits. However the discussion I enjoyed the most was the one in which Strauss Zelnick addressed the challenges of being young and insecure at the beginning of his career, and how we should find the balance between insecurity and confidence. I feel like it was an element most of us could all relate with, being only college students and having little experience. To me, the visit introduced the idea that even the most successful people are in fact still insecure at the zenith of their work, and that no one can really escape from uncertainty, insecurity, and failure, and that these should not stop us from working on our projects.
John Jiang ‘21
How did this trip motivate or challenge your ideas on what you want to do in the future?
It made me realize that being an entrepreneur didn't always have to revolve around constant from-scratch startups. Mr. Zelnick in particular was very inspirational.
What did you hope to gain out of this trip? Did you find what you expected?
I was looking forward to finding out how people bridged that gap between zero and success. In that regard, the trip did very well with its multiple perspectives. But above all else I wanted to see New York City, and while we didn't see as much as I had hoped, it was still a great trip.
Which visit did you enjoy most and why?
Mr. Zelnick definitely. Holy crap we talked to a billionaire.
Huiqin Hu ‘20
How did this trip motivate or challenge your ideas on what you want to do in the future?
After graduation, I will probably choose to work in big firms first to get networks and skills, and then think about running my own start-up.
What did you hope to gain out of this trip? Did you find what you expected?
I was hoping to see entrepreneurs who are working in the art industry and I was surprised to see 2 out of the 3 entrepreneurs have been/are working in the art industry from tangents that I haven't known before. This trip is a very informative and inspiring experience.
Which visit did you enjoy most and why?
Venn Arts with Jonathan Hecht. I can relate myself to him the most, and his personal experience on trying different career paths first and then finally end up in an field that he decides to specialize on is very helpful to me.