#endeavor

#endeavor

Social anxiety and depression had other plans, leaving me in an ugly cycle of self-isolation and rumination. Terrified of rejection, I'd meet someone interesting during one of my English lectures and invite them out for frozen yogurt in my head.

Denton's first rule: "Make it different, but relevant." The more unusual your swag is, the more likely people will remember it, want it, and share it online.

Curiosity is foundational in the arts, as demonstrated by the Menil Collection's exhibition, which transformed a gallery into an education room through public programs.

The only thing worse than making a mistake is keeping it bottled up inside. Learning from the mistakes of others could help you embark on the healing journey of sharing and working through a mistake of your own, with someone you trust.

When the person you're pretending to be gets too heavy to carry, you realize that the mask you've worn for so long has become your actual face.

In the high-stakes world of regulated AI, your model is only as good as the person who built it. We are betting on a human-first approach to technology.

Life History Theory emphasizes the tradeoffs individuals make in allocating energy to survival, growth, and reproduction, highlighting the competitive nature of energy acquisition.

I don't take founders here for exercise. I take them here because the controlled environment of a boardroom practically demands rehearsed answers. The trail does not. I don't prepare a script for these walks. In fact, that's the point. The pitch is already done; I know the metrics. Now I want to know the human.

Every major leap in my career, and every transformation I've led, began with a decision that involved risk, uncertainty and discomfort. If you're a leader, you've likely faced similar inflection points. Years ago, at Washington State University, we launched one of the first fully online undergraduate Management Information Systems (MIS) programs. At the time, it was uncharted territory. Few business schools had ventured into online learning, and many questioned whether students or employers would take the format seriously.

That pause is where the real work begins. Not in polished sketches or carefully worded summaries, but in the willingness to stop moving long enough to ask questions that haven't yet been surfaced. Why does this exist? What is it meant to do? Who is it actually serving?

In an era obsessed with shortcuts, overnight success, and polished social media profiles, adversity is often treated as something to avoid. Something unfortunate. Something that signals failure. That assumption is completely wrong. Adversity is not a flaw in the entrepreneurial journey; it is, in fact, the training ground, the pressure that sharpens one's judgment, accelerates their adaptability and forges the kind of resilience no accelerator, MBA or funding round can manufacture.

As an Asian-American kid growing up to an immigrant mom in North Carolina, I was taught to follow the rules (no exceptions). I was a Boy Scout, graduated top of my class and was hired by Goldman Sachs immediately after graduating undergrad. I had followed what I thought was the "right" path. I was living in the greatest city in the world (New York City, of course) and working at one of the best companies in the world ... but none of it felt right.