Thomas Bryan '21 | Jackson, WY
Major | IBE: Mechanical Engineering
Minor | Aerospace
Of the many delivered by the day's elegant orators, several quotes stand alone.
From Ann Lewnes: "Not being your self at work is exhausting." Which connected profoundly to me and how I occasionally feel while bogged down in work looking for the pinhole of light at the end of the tunnel. Ann's realization that being your self is so enabling and the best way to approach work is liberating. I am thankful she shared the insight.
From Maria Yap, Vice President of Digital Imaging at Adobe, and I am paraphrasing. "There is no ladder, and no straight path, do what motivates and brings joy to you." Or her "worst-case scenario I can work at McDonald's," which was the saying that catalyzed her actions under challenging circumstances. Both of Maria's insights resonate with my personality and situation in life, for they are enabling, inspirational, and each confronts many fears of young adults looking forward to life's many challenges.
For the majority of day one, January 8, 2020, Tim Eades, CEO of VArmour, enthralled the 56 undergrad and MBA students of LSV with insights, transparent and clear explanations, and palpable genuine connection. Of the many beautiful moments, two occupy a special place in my memory.
This idea conveys the limited value of something I perceived as very important to intellectual property protection. When Tim said, "Patents are like hand grenades, they almost never protect you totally, and if they do, the protection is only for a limited time." This paradigm shift exposes the need for personal experience and having a great mentor as well as the absolute value in working the hardest to provide the best product and representation of your idea.
To wrap up, an excellent description of the relationship between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs. Picture VCs and Entrepreneurs are playing separate casino games. Tim's analogy sheds insight on balancing action between the highly dependend business. "VCs play roulette and entrepreneurs play poker," eluding to the nature of each activity and how each approaches investment recuperation. As the conversation extended, the explanation conveyed more about how VCs often lose on bets, get a fair return on some, and how a minority provides a considerable profit. On the other side of the banana peel, entrepreneurs need to approach the game methodically, with continuous thought and intention that culminates in a make or break moment — the one-shot to win, walk with all the chips or none. Our initial day reaffirmed the value of LSV and the enormous effort put in to get all the Lehigh students to Silicon Valley. As a result, we receive the opportunity to showcase our preparation, unique devotion to learning, and desire to ask thoughtful questions. All so that we may gain unique insight from the incredible individuals that take time out of their busy schedules to educate and inspire the next generation of bright minds. If day one foreshadows the week ahead, I can not wait.