5 hard truths about why we Hispanics don't advance in tech entrepreneurship
Why fundraising is a counterintuitive mindf*ck…
Stand-up

Stand-up

What I learned about fundraising from trying stand-up comedy…

When I was 29, I started trying to stand up because I wanted to improve my public speaking skills. I had a thick Dominican-New York accent that often got in the way of my public speaking.

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Why you need to understand Investor herd dynamics?

Why you need to understand Investor herd dynamics?

Most founders don't succeed in fundraising because they don't understand the investor herd dynamics. Investors are social animals; they feel more comfortable being part of a group than being the lone wolf.

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What I learned about entrepreneurship from selling guavas in my barrio in Santo Domingo

What I learned about entrepreneurship from selling guavas in my barrio in Santo Domingo

My first entrepreneurial calling involved street-vending the extra guavas that grew from two trees in our backyard. I’d set up a stand in front of our house along a moderately busy road with mostly motorbike taxis (motoconchos) and other traffic.

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5 surprising things I've learned from 5 billionaires

5 surprising things I've learned from 5 billionaires

There are 2000 billionaires in the world. I've had the great opportunity of working with 5, whom I met when each of them invested in my last startup.

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Losing my virginity by Richard Branson

Losing my virginity by Richard Branson

Founder lessons I learned from losing my virginity…

No, not that virginity; “Losing My Virginity” was an autobiography by Richard Branson. He wrote this book, his very first one, at 42. My age now.

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99% of startup advice on the internet will kill your startup, here’s why

99% of startup advice on the internet will kill your startup, here’s why

1 - Most startup advice is written by spectators (i.e., academics, journalists, even VCs) of the startup sport, rather than the athletes (founders) of that sport,

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High Output Management by Andrew Grove

High Output Management by Andrew Grove

I stole this book on management, and I'm not giving it back…

Well, I didn't really ‘steal it’. I borrowed it from a colleague at my last company; he left, and I forgot to give it back.

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The best-misguided advice I ever got from Jack Dorsey

The best-misguided advice I ever got from Jack Dorsey

In the fall of 2013, I was a freshly minted YC alum. Having been the first Hispanic to ever complete Silicon Valley’s top accelerator, I felt equal parts pride and impostor syndrome. I talked about this to one of my investors, he kindly suggested chatting with a ‘friend CEO’, who also felt like an imposter at the beginning of his career. Who was that CEO? None other than Jack Doresy.

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7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey
EDRIZIO DELACRUZ EDRIZIO DELACRUZ

7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey

You’ve probably at least heard of the book by Stephen Covey . It sold 25 million copies. The original seven habits are: Be Proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win-Win, Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood, Synergize, Sharpen the Saw.

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The best people to solve the diversity crisis in tech

The best people to solve the diversity crisis in tech

In the fall of 2013, I was a freshly minted YC alum. Having been the first Hispanic to ever complete Silicon Valley’s top accelerator, I felt equal parts pride and impostor syndrome.

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The subtle art of not giving a fuck by Mark Manson

The subtle art of not giving a fuck by Mark Manson

What I learned about mental health from reading “The subtle art of not giving a fuck”...

When I was a founder, I kept looking for books about mental health, but most of them were generic and sounded like they were written by academics and not real people facing real problems.

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What I learned about ‘doing things that don't scale’ in Washington Heights

What I learned about ‘doing things that don't scale’ in Washington Heights

In July 2013, we were in the middle of the YC batch, trying to figure out how to get our product off the ground. Then we had office hours with Paul Graham, and he gave us this advice:

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