Moving to San Francisco transformed my perspective; being surrounded by other startup founders made me feel supported and motivated, contrasting with my previous environment.

I eventually moved to California to work at Google, where I was in online sales and operations, while continuing to explore side projects.

I was surprised to find that many people in San Francisco were working for or starting companies that they truly believed in, contrasting with my experiences abroad where non-profit work felt slow and bureaucratic.

After college, I worked at a biotech firm but felt the slow career progression pushed me to pursue entrepreneurship, especially after a roommate suggested we start a company together.

After exiting my first company, I spent time working at startups and venture builders to gain experience and learn from faster-growing companies.

I decided to stop working on my startup and joined Google to learn skills that would help me succeed as an entrepreneur.

I realized my learning at Amazon was plateauing, which pushed me to start attending founder meetups in Seattle to learn more about entrepreneurship.

After graduating from college, I struggled to find my path, working various jobs until I met Paul Graham, which led to our partnership in founding Y Combinator.

I moved to Silicon Valley right after graduate school, not knowing anyone, and faced terrible market timing as the internet bubble was collapsing.