Last Thursday I hosted 6 students from St. Michael’s College to a tour of the Warner Yard and Techstars offices. These kids, from 11-14 years of age, are going through the Bryanston Square program and trying to get a sense of what entrepreneurship is, and in a broader sense, what working is.
Kids having a hoot signing in
I explain the deep meaning of Fede’s painting
We went around the office and asked Ambie, Weave, SpotTech, PingWhen, Print to Peer, Headliner, Teska Labs, and HackaJob the advice they would give to their 14 year old selves. Some of the most notable were:
- Rodolfo’s urge for them to be confident – they are better than they think
- Rosario’s sharing of her introverted childhood – and that people can change
- Stephane’s advice to find something that you love (as trivial as it may seem) – and get good at it
I loved hearing the advice. Everyone opened up and honestly shared, in the limited time they had, something they would have done differently – or not. You could literally see everyone peel down their layers, reach down to their 14 year old selves, and find their own lessons.
We ended with me buying a pizza lunch at Santore. Because that’s what kids love.
Tak Lo describes himself as: “Startup operator – as a founder, mentor, and investor across the globe. Creating unfair advantages for early stage founders.
I care about audacious challenges, small team execution, education, international stuff, and veterans issues.”