#bktm

Here's the most recent episode & their linktree!

Some teachers are more likely to teach their students the quick and efficient way of solving a problem to both save time and make room for pushing in another lesson. At least, in Tamaki's case they usually do.

But after observing Katsuki, he realized that the little man wrote a concerningly long formula that reaches half the page for one question. One. How can one even bear to do that? What if this question is included in an full-essay exam with a short time? What then?

But then again, it is hard to converse to someone who held you at bomb-point a few weeks ago, even if that someone is your dog-like junior's friend.

So he opens and closes his mouth like a fish, before finally speaking

"Hey.. your way of doing it is kinda long.."

"Hah?"

Oh crap, please don't send me flying through the window...

"Your formula, um.. It's too long for such a question. "

"How would you know that, smart-ass?"

With a sigh, he fetched a paper and pencil, and started scribbling away the answer. His version is so much shorter, only taking three lines instead of Katsuki's seven.

"See? The result's the same.. didn't the teacher show you how to simplify it?"

Katsuki stared at the paper like it offended him, before speaking again.

"..no, we just started learning this today. "

"Today?! But this is a first semester's lesson! You're almost reaching 11th grade!"

"Wait, what? But the teacher said that we'll be learning the basics of this then learn the advanced version on 11th grade. "

"What the hell have they been teaching you?!"

Also i think Tumblr ate one of my asks chat

Earlier this week, I attended my first Brooklyn Tech Meetup. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for the past 5 years and have been to two Queens Tech Meetup — shameful, I know. I attended this BKTM for 2 reasons: my friends from Aggregift were presenting and Charlie O’Donnell. In case you didn’t know, Charlie O’Donnell is a VC at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures that invests only in New York startups.

His talk from the event was intriguing, informative, and even, a little “Dr. Phil-esque”. Here are the main things I took away from his talk:

1. Save Your Pitch for the Right Occasion

So, you’ve attended an event featuring a panel of VCs. As soon as the panel is done speaking and the Q&A forum has concluded, you rush your ideal VC. Even surrounded by a throng of other eager founders and entrepreneurs, you are laser–sharp; you introduce yourself, your company, and give your 2-minute pitch. Problem is, that VC is probably thinking about what to get to eat, someone is waiting for him/her, or is just plain tired. Introduce yourself and company and save your pitch for when you have most of the VC's attention.

2. Be Persistent

We all know VCs get a ton of emails, phone calls, and intros on a daily basis. As Charlie puts it, "I'm giving away money with my email next to it". If you send a VC an email and you haven't heard back from him/her in a while, it's perfectly fine to forward the original message again, saying something like, "hey I'm not sure if you saw this yet? ...". Charlie says its actually the opposite that would worry him - lack of persistence.

3. Do You Have an All-Star Founding Team?

This was a major topic during his talk. In an era where everyone is Google-able and LinkedIn-able (that might be the first time LinkedIn was used as a verb), VCs can do a quick team assessment and determine if this is the kind of team he/she would put together. Recruiting is difficult and is made easier by hiring people around you, but just make sure you have a qualified, solid team.

4. Go Big

This was both a tip for your startup and life. Let's first go over the startup tip.

Is the scope of your startup crippling the potential size of your target users? Why limit yourself to a small user base if you can aim for a huge one. For instance, if your startup targets singers, why not target all people in the music industry - musicians, song writers, and producers, as well. This reminds me of Paul Graham's recent post on startup ideas that spoke to this concept. As Charlie puts it, he feels better knowing you're a player in a big industry than knowing you've dominated a small one. Even if you're focusing on a niche user base at first, make sure you make it known you're going to be expanding during your pitch.

Now for the life advice.

Not everyone is meant to be a founder. On that note, strive for being at the top of your field in your industry in your location. If you're a UI/UX designer, attend events, meet new people, and expose your work to the world. More often than not, the person that does the great work at a company is behind the scenes - let people meet you.