Hannah Lee '20 | Stroudsburg, PA Major | Computer Science
Minor | Psychology
“People often say: I have to do A before I can get to doing B, but often times you can go straight to B and it will eventually lead you to something else.” Joe Blair’s journey to Venture Capital was not a traditional one. He was one of my favorite speakers thus far because his open and honest story is one that truly resonated with my experiences. He acknowledges that throughout college, he wasn’t quite sure where he wanted to end up. He chose to pursue paths that he was currently interested in, and leveraged what he learned at those places in his future endeavors.
People often encourage you to think about the long-term, and what you eventually want to end up doing. On the other side, Joe inspires us to focus on the short-term; do things that make you excited to wake up in the morning, and eventually it will lead to something bigger. Why are we, as college students, expected to have a grand plan? A “where do you see yourself in 20 years?” It was refreshing to hear that it’s equally as important to gain diverse experience doing what you enjoy, and let those experiences shape you into your future self.
I was grateful to have been able to chat with Joe at our alumni event at the Nasdaq center; as I am still trying to figure out my path, he gave me valuable insight into a possible future in VC. He encouraged me to do my research and learn about a variety of start-ups as if I was in VC, without doing the actual investing. This would not only allow me to learn more about up and coming companies/tech, but also to possibly break into the world of VC in the future.