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If You Are Going To San Francisco… My 22 Tips and Tricks on Networking in the City
Every new environment is yet another chance, but also test for your networking skills. After coming to San Francisco, I soon realized that this was not yet just another city, but rather, a magic, layered place that unfolds like an onion — ugly on the outside, but beautiful on the inside. In this article, I list 22 networking lessons learned in the past two months spent in San Francisco. Overall, my personal strategy could be described in short as: everything, everywhere, all at once. An award-winning approach.
How To Write Successful Applications For the Top Startup Accelerators? On the Example of Y Combinator
Admission to the Y Combinator acceleration program is the dream for thousands of founders of Software-as-a-Service platforms worldwide. And for a good reason: this iconic accelerator not only offers attractive seed investment for your company, but also secures top-notch mentoring. But how to successfully apply? to approach this question, I analyzed a repo of 32 successful YC applications openly available online. Here, I introduce my conclusions.
Business Verkeerd (Grow Slow)
In the Netherlands, one of the most popular types of coffee is “coffee verkeerd,” which translates to “coffee the wrong way.” Whenever I order it, I smile as it reminds me how I do business. Namely, turning many of the rules I was taught upside down and inside out, and doing things my own way.
In this article, I will list some of my personal rules and outlook on the business that might be viewed as nonorthodox. If you share any of them, or just disagree, please let me know!
The Temple: How To Survive as a Consultant in the Bay Area?
I am soon departing for my next trip toward the Bay Area. Which is clearly not the most comfortable place to find yourself in as a consultant. For a long time, I wondered why this is so, and finally came to some (perhaps interesting) conclusions.
The Key To Success as a Solopreneur and Bootstrapper: How To Work With Subcontractors?
It is essential for any little bootstrapping business to get the best people for your project and keep them around. I believe that now after the corona crisis, project-based work with subcontractors will become much more common than before. And, I don’t hold my recipe for dealing with subcontractors a secret at all. In this article, I list my 10 golden rules working with subcontractors.
Startup Culture in Bay Area vs Startup Culture in Amsterdam
I spent the last few weeks in the Bay Area, also known as Silicon Valley. Despite being here for such a short time, I already discovered numerous fundamental (and often shocking!) differences between the startup culture in Amsterdam, where I spent three months earlier this year, and the Bay Area. In this article, I list the main 10 differences I’ve noticed so far – but I am quite convinced that there are dozens of others! Now, what is done differently here?
At the Rainbow’s End: On the Phantom Boss
A few days ago, I took an evening hike to Hunter’s Point at the end of the Rainbow Road in Cupertino, California. It was a beautiful evening. I sat down on the bench at the top of the hill and observed the whole Silicon Valley falling asleep in the distance. And yet, something didn’t let me fully enjoy the moment. It was a Sunday evening and something on my stomach was making me feel anxious and insecure about the upcoming week. What’s up, Nat? — I was asking myself. — You are a free person, so what’s your problem?
My Personal Approach To Investing (As Of Today)
I recently had a few conversations with friends who couldn’t understand some of my investment decisions. They thought of me as a degen who either has way too much free time, or completely lost her marbles. Well, they might be right… But nevertheless, I decided to invest some time in thinking about my current personal investment strategy more in detail, and putting down my thoughts on paper. It is a rather unorthodox approach, so who knows — perhaps this read is also useful to you, whoever you are.
Good Money, Bad Money. How Many Types of Money Do We Have? Financial Education By My Dad
How many types of money do we have in the world? It is not a discussion about the right and the wrong currencies! It is all about value. I just had a conversation with my Dad, a professional chess player, about what money is and what it is not. His attitude is so much different than mine!
Building Personal Development Skills In the Shadow of The Imposter Syndrome
In the pandemic, I had way more than enough time to think about what I want from life and what kind of mission I would like to accomplish. The concept was baking in the back of my head for a long time. And here it is.
Dreamers Gonna Dream. On Personal Goals Baked During the Pandemic
In the pandemic, I had way more than enough time to think about what I want from life and what kind of mission I would like to accomplish. The concept was baking in the back of my head for a long time. And here it is.
Fundamental Analysis in the Times of Digital Transformation
Do the principles of fundamental analysis as described by Benjamin Graham in his famous book, “The Intelligent Investor” still hold in the XXIst century?
How To Create a Business Development Strategy As a Person Who Never Competes
I never enjoyed watching sports. I just don’t get the concept of competing against another person of your own will. For my whole life, I was focused on personal development. At the same time, I was actively avoiding competing against others. It might be a weird thing to say for a person who owns a company. And yet, it’s true.
On The Intrinsic Bitcoin Value
This week, I observed a lot of discussion on the media related to ecology, sustainability, and Bitcoin’s place in the picture. As a person who is now professionally involved in looking for value in people and projects, I would like to refer to the main arguments mentioned in the discussion and explain what I believe is the value of Bitcoin.
Pencils of the Digital Era
While most Millenials and Z-generation are obsessed with building influencial projects that change people’s lives, thousands of people out there become wealthy steadily and silently – by providing simple online services that solve little everyday problems.
5 “Best” Business Models in the World
Can you build an unflappable business model? A perpetuum mobile that always works, no matter what? Oh yes, you can. In this article, I list five such business models. Should you take an example from them? Well…
Poland Fights With COVID
There are lots of stereotypical opinions you can hear about Polish people world-wide. Hard-working, with a tendency to steal, yet traditional and religious. But one undeniable fact about Polish society is that it can be unbelievably creative and solidary — especially in times of crisis. And that shows especially clearly when you take a look at how Polish entrepreneurs deal with the lockdown.
Why You Should Never Buy Bitcoin
You might be watching Bitcoin price charts with interest or even with excitement. Perhaps, you already bought it. Or you are seriously considering it. Just wait a second.
How (Not) to Build a Business
I remember how once upon a time, I was impressed when someone was introducing themselves to me as a “serial entrepreneur.” Well, it’s not the case anymore — and let me tell you why.
Mum, Dad, I’m a YouTuber!
In the darkest times during graduate school, when I was completely out of energy and I saw no light in the tunnel, I used to think to myself, “Hey, don’t worry. It’s not that bad of a job. It could have been much worse — you could have been a YouTuber.” But, the irony will prevail.
Can You Marry Research With Entrepreneurship?
Living a double life between entrepreneurship and academic research is not easy. This blog post reviews the reasons why this is so, and ideas for how you might nevertheless succeed in balancing on the edge of the two worlds.
People Is the Answer
It’s been a long road up to this point, since I left my parents’ place at the age of 18. But, when I look back at the past 15 years, I some some patterns clearly, coming over over again. First of all, I see that there is only one asset which has been systematically accumulating over these 15 years. It was not money, which you can easily lose in the nearest bubble. It was not knowledge, which can become useless once you change the discipline or profession. It was actually people.
How I Became a Business Developer
I always thought that the common beliefs that everything happens for a reason, and that eventually, you will start connecting the dots, is a pseudo-intellectual bullshit sold to the masses for big bucks by Tony Robbins and others alike. And now, I am starting to wonder.
What I Learned past Few Months…
…about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. In this time I was attending quite a few conferences in industry, I was informally involved in some projects, and I made many entrepreneurial friends. And, I was observing. As for a researcher who spent her whole youth solving integral equations, this is quite a new and exotic experience. I am on the learning curve now, in this fascinating new world. Hereby, I would like to list a few stereotypes I had about entrepreneurs, and how I feel about these stereotypes right now.
Born to Do It
One insight I remember from all the motivational books and movies I ever consumed is that, entrepreneurs always underscore how difficult it is to go against your relatives and friends when it comes to risking, investing and dropping day jobs on behalf of starting new ventures. In my case, family and friends react completely differently than in most cases I ever heard of – and it gives me goose bumps.