Hi everyone! I'd like to invite all of you to publicly set a weekly goal in the comments. This post serves as a small commitment to both yourself and our group! Here are the basic instructions: - If you accomplish your goal from the previous week, announce your win and set your next goal. - If you don’t achieve your goal, you’re encouraged to share not excuses, but your plan for accomplishing it this week. Accountability isn’t about blame; it's about progress. All reasons are valid, but a lack of progress is not. If it takes two weeks instead of one, that's fine - just make sure to get it done. Please be as specific as possible and ensure that your goal is entirely within your control. Action: Write your goal for the week in the comments

One of my friends, Justin, also known as Cool Blaze, shared these really useful 20 lessons that you get when you read the book called "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. Unfortunately, I haven't read the book myself yet, but I've definitely added it to my to-read list. Here is the lessons : 1. Success is an aggregation of small wins. 2. First, we make our habits, and then our habits make us. 3. Consistency beats intensity. 4. Eliminate friction for good habits. 5. Master the art of habit-tracking. 6. Optimize your work environment. 7. Good habits take time to form. 8. Don’t fumble hard-earned progress. 9. Choose your social circle carefully. 10. Make the path of least resistance. 11. Find an accountability partner. 12. Fall in love with the process. 13. Winners and losers have the same goals. 14. Success is a lifestyle, not an event. 15. Talk is cheap; you are your actions. 16. Good habits take a long time to build. 17. Your identity is your future. 18. Results are a lagging indicator of habits. 19. Trajectory is more important than the current position. 20. You do not rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.

I came across a systematic approach to achieving success 🎉It is called "P.R.O.C.E.S.S.", and this acronym outlines: 📅 Plan: Develop a detailed plan outlining your goals and the steps needed to achieve them. 🔬 Research: Gather information and conduct thorough research to inform your decision-making. 🗃️ Organize: Arrange resources, tasks, and information in a structured manner to facilitate efficient execution. 🧺 Collect: Accumulate necessary data, materials, or resources to support the execution of your plan. 🚀 Execute: Implement your plan, putting it into action based on the organized and collected information. 🛠️ Skillset: Utilize and enhance your skills to navigate challenges and enhance the likelihood of success. 🏆 Success: Evaluate and measure the outcomes, adjusting strategies as needed to achieve the desired level of success.

Recently, I had a long phone meeting with a potential investor from NYC. During our conversation, she asked me about my team. I told her the story of how I found and teamed up with two dozen college students, how I trained them, and naturally, how we settled on the venture studio idea and started CompanyLX. She told me that I am one of the best technical mentors she has come across recently and that I have a natural talent for it. Honestly, I was not aware of it. So this conversation made me think, what is the importance of a mentor? Starting with the term itself... 📜 Mentorship itself is a deeply valued relationship that predates modern civilization. "Mentor", the term originates in Homer’s Odyssey with the advisor Mentor, who guides Odysseus’ son Telemachus while his father is off fighting in the Trojan War. But what is it for startups.... 📖 A startup mentor is an experienced individual who provides guidance, support, and advice to entrepreneurs, known as the mentee. These mentors typically have expertise in various areas such as business strategy, product development, marketing, finance, or specific industries. In function, they can be a teacher, a coach, a confidant, a role model, a consultant - even a friend. Cool, tell me more about their importance... ⭐ Gerard Roche wrote in a 1979 issue of the Harvard Business Review that nearly two-thirds of surveyed top executives had a mentor - and those who did reported earning more money and being happier with their careers. A study on the Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM found that mentorship plays an essential role not only in professional development of a startup but also as essential psychosocial support for the entrepreneurs. The key areas of mentorship support are: - Psychological and emotional support in overcoming challenges - Modeling important aspirational behaviors, values, and attitudes - Career guidance by questioning and critiquing goals, interests, and decisions - Skill development through education, training, and evaluation - Sponsorship by offering public support and advocating for the mentee

🚨 Disclaimer: This is not expert advice; it is completely my personal opinion. Convertible debt and SAFE funding structures offer a combination of security, potential for high returns, and flexibility, making them attractive options for investors, especially in the high-risk, high-reward world of early-stage startups. However, I as a startup founder, I feel like one of my duties is to save as much equity as possible within the company among founders. Here are 3 strategies I have found to save some equity: 1️⃣ Bootstrap - financing a startup using personal savings, revenue from initial sales, or support from friends and family, without relying on external investors. 2️⃣ Grants and Competitions - funding through grants, competitions, or government programs designed to support startups. 3️⃣ Debt Financing - borrowing money through loans or credit, which must be repaid with interest. Let me know if there are other strategies out there.