Life Updates 1/27/24

The fall semester passed by me very quickly. I didn’t make as much time to slow down and reflect as I would’ve liked, but it’s never too late.

When I was in NYC this past summer, I went to see a psychic who told me I was going to experience intense career-related turmoil in the next few months. I don’t know if psychics are legit or if hearing this turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy, but this came true. I switched minds about applying for an MBA vs law school vs working directly out of undergrad several times, all since I didn’t have an internship lined up for this summer. I began scrambling for backup plans. On top of this, I spent every waking moment last semester applying for summer 2024 internships as it became clearer that a return offer from last year would not work out. This panic completely consumed me. I felt too guilty enjoying myself or doing schoolwork without a sense of security. I was haunted by the LinkedIn acceptance posts which are a cursed form of social media (that I am doomed to partake in too).

My transformation into a stressed and panicked presence was noticed by all those around me. My friends and parents tried to reassure me by telling me that something will work out for me, because it always does. This sentiment struck me. While I have enjoyed quite a bit of luck on top of my personal efforts in terms of good news career-wise, this isn’t a hard and fast rule. I deeply dreaded the day it proves to be false.

That time hasn’t come yet luckily. I’m very excited that I’ll be accepting an offer as a Financial Analyst at the UBS Investment Bank this summer in LONDON. Imagining my summer in London triggered a lot of bittersweet thoughts about my past summer in NYC. It was very strange and very special to be there without really knowing anyone. I’m a bit sad to not be NYC this summer as many of my friends will be, but in a sense appreciative that my one summer there as a college student was what it was. Most of all, I’m incredibly excited to be in London. I’ve never lived outside the country before, and it’s a beautiful city. Since I hadn’t planned to study abroad, I see this as a really perfect opportunity. I think it’d be awesome to do some traveling within Europe while I’m there too. I truly can’t wait for what this summer will hold.

Anyone who was around me last semester will wince upon seeing the word “startup”. It was all I talked about and it became a running joke amongst my school friends. The startup accelerator I did this past fall was pretty hardcore. One of the guys said he “began isolating from his friends and family” because of it. He raised $500k in dilutive funding and dropped out of school. I hope that guy’s doing okay. Amen.

My startup started as a passion project, but being surrounded by extremely motivated entrepreneurs and student founders made a profound impact on me. I started thinking it could be something more than a concept I pitch at competitions. I pushed myself to talk to several criminal attorneys about my product and I lit up to hear all of them express how useful it would be for them. CounselAI could maybe really make a difference to their clients. I worked harder on the startup than I’ve ever worked on anything and it was nice to care about something like that again. I hadn’t felt motivation in this way since high school debate (which I now realize was an elaborate form of roleplay). I did countless meetings with customers and investors and mentors and relentlessly worked to have my product developed. We now have a finished product and several interested users. I iterated on the pitch deck and executive documents more times than I could imagine. I let this project completely overtake my life last semester and I’m glad it did. There was no better feeling than getting up to the podium and spilling my guts in the pitch.

The best thing I did for CounselAI was bring on a teammate. It’s not for the reasons I would have thought. I brought on a CFO to complement my expertise when pitching or trying to make sales. I needed someone with confidence about pricing schemes, market sizing, and revenue models, and I was already spread pretty thin between being the head of marketing and development and operations and actually the general head of everything. The greatest value in my teammate turned out not to be the technical skills he brought on, but the support. He made working on the startup a fun thing to do. We uniquely understood each other’s struggles and successes during the process in ways our other friends couldn’t. We had inside jokes about it. He challenged me on certain opinions I had and it turned into eye-opening discussions. My partner was mostly just there when I needed him. Huge shoutout to Mr. CFO. Note to self: hire HR.

I’m so incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made with CounselAI. We begin piloting with a major law office in Maryland soon. Big things are coming.

I did a lot more soaking in than writing recently. I’m taking notes about new lyricism techniques and new concepts. Here’s some favorite lyrics from the past few months:

Your 4Runner, is it running up north these days? - Brenn

I know that when it’s all done I’ll hate you bad in the long run - Tate Mcrae

Tick tock on the clock I pace down your block I broke my own heart ‘cause you were too polite to do it - Taylor Swift

You search in every maiden’s bed for something greater - Taylor Swift

You once called me forever now you still can’t call me back - Noah Kahan

Said I was too young, I was too soft, can’t take a joke, can’t get you off - Olivia Rodrigo

They’re changing my machinery and I just let it happen - Olivia Rodrigo

Goodbye