Bridging Connections: Link(ed)in’ up IRL
By Ting Ting Li
Time flew by this week as DSV kicked into full gear. After a week of settling in, our schedules this week were filled with classes, site visits, & unforgettable conversations. In class, our focus was on monetization and building a brand, centered around the key question: “how does this make money?” Getting to explore various business models helped me think beyond just the technicalities of product-building but dive deeper into the operational and strategic sides like scaling a company – balancing the product development with the profitability side. Part of this week’s class, we had two incredible guest speakers: Greg Badros, who shared his journey from working in big tech to founding Gluroo & important life lessons he’s taken away from each milestone in his life so far including the importance of getting & giving feedback for anything you or anyone else may be building even if they are at a greater expertise level than you. There is still beauty in sharing different perspectives to combine together. And Karen Zhang, whose insights on product marketing, branding, and capturing audience attention resonated deeply with my personal interests of design and product development. Both speakers provided an invaluable amount of advice and wisdom that I will certainly be applying in the near future.
Apart from class, our week was equally packed with fun site visits. Kicking off the week, we visited the Oracle Stadium, cheering on the Giants, and got to meet the SVP & CIO Duke alum, Bill Schlough. Next, we visited LinkedIn, making not just one connection but four – Yvonne Kuo, Lydia Xu, Phuc Nguyen, and Nils Albertson, all experts in different fields across product, engineering, and machine learning.
We also explored the Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, speaking with Lori Conklin & John 
Derderian, as well as the start up, Nudge, founded by Fred Ehrsam. This week was filled with exploration and learning across a diverse range of fields from sports to tech to media, and finally neurohealth. Each alum had a different path and many have shifted in their career paths – reminding me there really is no one “right” career route and there will always be opportunities to blend passions and build a career, a product, a story uniquely to one selve.
Midweek, we also attended a networking night with Duke alums across the Bay Area, where we were able to build deeper connections and learn from a diverse group of people with backgrounds ranging from all over the fields of Trinity and Pratt – we even saw familiar faces like Greg Badros. While everyone was making all their new connections, we haven’t forgotten to grow our own cohort’s connections. We’re growing closer together despite only having known each for two weeks as we explore the cities together, visiting the beaches, watching movies, grab dinners & sweet treats, or even just a nice night walk on Laurel street.
It’s crazy to think we’re already halfway there, but this is definitely a glass half full moment for me, and I can’t wait to fill the rest of it.
Ting Ting is a rising junior from Silver Spring, MD who is studying Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science with a passion for design, innovation, medicine, and technology. She is passionate about combining her I&E interests with medicine and technology to bring new ideas and solutions to the healthcare world. At Duke, she is involved pre-professionally through The Cube, an entrepreneurship and innovation focused student group, as well as Catalyst, a tech focused student group. Additionally, she serves as marketing and communications for DTech, outreach for the Asian Students Association, and dances for two groups, Duke Chinese Dance & Duke Synergy. In her free time, Ting Ting can be found doing arts & crafts of any kind including but not limited to drawing, painting, & digital art. She is always down for an adventure, and loves to travel & try new things. She is really excited to be part of DSV this summer and can’t wait to make new friendships while expanding her entrepreneurial skills.
