>>Finally finished changing my theme, and currently hosting the site on dreamhost (YAY). So this is a long overdue, and lengthy post that I started a month ago. Happy to have finished it:)<<

Whilst in the insert-university-name bubble, it’s hard to see beyond academia, research, and the handful of companies that come to campus to recruit each year… well at least it was for me. The Columbia bubble made it hard for me to hop off campus and consider the world beyond the 116th gates.

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During Novemeber of 2011, I decided to shake things up, break the bubble, and make an effort to try new things. My first effort was small- I attended a dormcubator event at my residence hall. The event featured three people on the start-up scene who spoke about their experience over a pizza dinner. As a complete startup-noob, I was a bit intimidated (to say the least). But start-up people happen to be REALLY NICE. I spoke to one of the panelists, Schuyler Brown, who (on the spot) sent an email to Professor Wiggins as an intro for me.

Professor Wiggins put me in touch with Erin @Aviary and Charlie @BrooklynBridgeVentures. I had the chance to meet with both of them shortly after and they’re some of the most helpful people I’ve met during college.

Erin actually met me the day that I got intro’d to her (she was flying out the next day). She came all the way up to Columbia to meet me and we spoke for an hour or two about careers, the start-up scene, and her experiences. It was touching enough to find that she would come all the way up to Columbia just to meet me and dispell my fears about career hunting, but she’s always sending me information on postings and articles I’d be interested in [she recently wrote an article on TechCrunch that you should read]. It was inspiring to see her so dedicated and motivated, and her advice to go out, push myself, and learn new things really resonated with me.

A few months after meeting Erin, I met Charlie at one of the biggest starbucks I’d ever seen. Seldom have I found someone who is not only willing to give advice but also suggest concrete ideas on what to do next. I think the best advice he gave me that day was to just go out and do something. I haven’t quite yet found that one thing that I am so passionate about that I can’t stop thinking about it, and I haven’t quite determined my ideal career path. Before speaking with Charlie, I thought that I had to have a distinct vision for my long term future before I can get started doing the “right things,” but I’ve come to realize that only by trying things will I actually be able to determine what I’d like to do throughout my life (if you want some of Charlie’s tips yourself, his career advice article is a must read). After our meeting, Charlie introduced me to two start-up CEOs who I met over the next couple months.

My first visit was to Greatist Headquarters to meet CEO/founder Derek. Greatist’s easy to navigate website, killer graphics, unique posts (like this one and this one for starters), and tracebacks to journal articles are what (I think) makes Greatist one of the best places to get fitness, health, and lifestyle information. Derek himself is very enthusiastic, and it’s obvious upon meeting him that he is incredibly passionate about his start-up. This meeting was a great experience for me to see first-hand, someone in my age group who’s not only doing what they love but really excelling at it. The best advice Derek gave me was that I shouldn’t seek to monetize my hobbies/ventures. Putting in effort and building something awesome are what matter the most and although the money may or may not come after, doing solid work that I’m proud of is all that matters.

Last month, I completed my second visit, this time to Energyhub to visit CEO Seth . Nestled in Brooklyn, their office is the most amazing workplace I’ve been to. Their office space itself is phenomenal (how could I not love a space with an SNES, Jenga, Trivial Pursuit, and a wall of bike racks). [Energyhub makes awesome energy management products (their website explains the details well), and I think their technology benefits users by increasing interaction with utilities.] Over (a wonderfully tasty) lunch on the picnic bench in the EnergyHub Kitchen, I got to learn more what it takes to take an idea and grow it into a successful company. Although it was clear that everyone at EnergyHub is extremely busy, I got a feeling of genuine happiness and kindness from the people I met there.

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To think that these busy people who do crazy awesome work would actually sit down a chat with me for a couple of hours is still unreal to me. In a few months I’ve met a handful of people who are key decision makers in the companies they work at, and it’s strange to think that working even a lifetime at a corporate company might not give me the chance to interact with the people who largely control the fate of the business.

These meetings have renewed my optimism in the world. There are people out there who are 100% inspirational and willing to share their knowledge, it’s just up to us to find them.

Suffice to say this is only the beginning of a long journey.

Cheers!