I’ve spent some amazing years in this
city and not a coffee shop not too far
from here
I actually sat down with my co-founder
Jessica Santana to create the blueprint
for New York on tech on Apollo napkins
New York on tech is preparing the next
generation of technology leaders by
creating pathways for students like you
to thrive in technology and innovation
growing new york on tech has been an
amazing experience literally because we
get to work with amazing students like
yourselves who are on the path towards
changing the world however as many of
you probably know growing an
organization can sometimes be
challenging but throughout the years and
actually since I’ve been fairly young
I’ve always leveraged technology as a
platform to connect with information
motivation and mentors while I’ve never
met them in person I’ve had the
opportunity to connect with three highly
successful mentors whom you may know
first connected with Michael Jordan when
I was a kid I could remember sitting on
the floor with my cousins and friends
glaring and set a TV screen
watching Mike play basketball the sounds
of their announcers literally screaming
every time he scored a bucket was
exhilarating what I learned from Mike
and that I realized as I got older was
the importance of embracing failure as
I’m looking into the crowd I want every
one person in this room said think about
a time that you failed how did that
failure make you feel how
other people make you feel about that
failure now keep those thoughts in your
head Michael Jordan missed over 9000
shots missed over 26 game-winning shots
yet we still know him as one of the
greatest basketball players of all time
and in my personal opinion the greatest
basketball player of all time and I’ll
debate all those Kobe fans in the crowd
a little later I want you to understand
that life is a series of learning
lessons sometimes dressed up as failures
and just like playing video games every
time you fail on a board or a mission
next time around you get better at
navigating the course in front of you
because you learn from your previous
experiences so the importance of
embracing failure in order to learn as
you move forward as a team I would
didn’t connect with jay-z via my ipod I
would listen to jay-z songs over and
over and over in my headphones even
while applying to college and writing my
essays jay-z is a successful businessman
and one of the highest selling artists
of all time
I instantly connected with him not just
because of his music but because we grew
up in similar environments both coming
up in Brooklyn what I learned from jay-z
was the importance of unlocking your
genius level talent Jay talks about a
time when his uncle told him he would
never be better than LL Cool J yet
jada and let his uncle knock his hustle
he would go on to start rockefeller
records have business investments in the
Brooklyn Nets 40 40 rock nation and
title among others I think Jay said it
best when he said I’m not a businessman
I’m a business man no matter what
someone tells you never allow them to
limit your growth the best thing you can
do is prove them wrong on your way to
success
just like jay-z I want to show people
that no matter where you come from you
can make it as a teen entrepreneur in
high school before giving a speech at
Goldman Sachs one of the world’s most
prestigious investment banks I told
myself before coming on stage that I
would be a product of my environment but
a product in which my community would be
proud going to college I started to want
to learn more about the creators of the
tech products and services I was using
and that’s when I learned about Steve
Jobs via the Internet after completing
two consecutive summers at an investment
bank and not interested in going into
the field after graduation I decided to
go study abroad in China via the CEREC
University study abroad program this
gave me the opportunity to take some
time away from campus and connect with
my next steps Steve Jobs allowed me to
see that I could be a change agent and
that I could design and craft the world
to look as I envisioned so I decided to
not go into the industry but to go back
to school and study technology and
entrepreneurship as a Kaufmann fellow
which is supported by the Kauffman
Foundation one of the world’s largest
foundations globally for supporting
entrepreneurship as I look into the
crowd how many of you own Apple products
let me see Mac books iPhones Apple
watches we can see that impact of being
a change agent that Steve Jobs has left
in the room here and globally I want you
to understand that you are limitless
and that Mike Jay Steve and I are no
different than anyone else in this room
I want you to embrace and learn from
your failures like Mike
not let others direct what you’re going
to do with your life like J and most
importantly know that you can be an
agent of change like Steve Jobs be great
be limitless thank you [Applause]
city and not a coffee shop not too far
from here
I actually sat down with my co-founder
Jessica Santana to create the blueprint
for New York on tech on Apollo napkins
New York on tech is preparing the next
generation of technology leaders by
creating pathways for students like you
to thrive in technology and innovation
growing new york on tech has been an
amazing experience literally because we
get to work with amazing students like
yourselves who are on the path towards
changing the world however as many of
you probably know growing an
organization can sometimes be
challenging but throughout the years and
actually since I’ve been fairly young
I’ve always leveraged technology as a
platform to connect with information
motivation and mentors while I’ve never
met them in person I’ve had the
opportunity to connect with three highly
successful mentors whom you may know
first connected with Michael Jordan when
I was a kid I could remember sitting on
the floor with my cousins and friends
glaring and set a TV screen
watching Mike play basketball the sounds
of their announcers literally screaming
every time he scored a bucket was
exhilarating what I learned from Mike
and that I realized as I got older was
the importance of embracing failure as
I’m looking into the crowd I want every
one person in this room said think about
a time that you failed how did that
failure make you feel how
other people make you feel about that
failure now keep those thoughts in your
head Michael Jordan missed over 9000
shots missed over 26 game-winning shots
yet we still know him as one of the
greatest basketball players of all time
and in my personal opinion the greatest
basketball player of all time and I’ll
debate all those Kobe fans in the crowd
a little later I want you to understand
that life is a series of learning
lessons sometimes dressed up as failures
and just like playing video games every
time you fail on a board or a mission
next time around you get better at
navigating the course in front of you
because you learn from your previous
experiences so the importance of
embracing failure in order to learn as
you move forward as a team I would
didn’t connect with jay-z via my ipod I
would listen to jay-z songs over and
over and over in my headphones even
while applying to college and writing my
essays jay-z is a successful businessman
and one of the highest selling artists
of all time
I instantly connected with him not just
because of his music but because we grew
up in similar environments both coming
up in Brooklyn what I learned from jay-z
was the importance of unlocking your
genius level talent Jay talks about a
time when his uncle told him he would
never be better than LL Cool J yet
jada and let his uncle knock his hustle
he would go on to start rockefeller
records have business investments in the
Brooklyn Nets 40 40 rock nation and
title among others I think Jay said it
best when he said I’m not a businessman
I’m a business man no matter what
someone tells you never allow them to
limit your growth the best thing you can
do is prove them wrong on your way to
success
just like jay-z I want to show people
that no matter where you come from you
can make it as a teen entrepreneur in
high school before giving a speech at
Goldman Sachs one of the world’s most
prestigious investment banks I told
myself before coming on stage that I
would be a product of my environment but
a product in which my community would be
proud going to college I started to want
to learn more about the creators of the
tech products and services I was using
and that’s when I learned about Steve
Jobs via the Internet after completing
two consecutive summers at an investment
bank and not interested in going into
the field after graduation I decided to
go study abroad in China via the CEREC
University study abroad program this
gave me the opportunity to take some
time away from campus and connect with
my next steps Steve Jobs allowed me to
see that I could be a change agent and
that I could design and craft the world
to look as I envisioned so I decided to
not go into the industry but to go back
to school and study technology and
entrepreneurship as a Kaufmann fellow
which is supported by the Kauffman
Foundation one of the world’s largest
foundations globally for supporting
entrepreneurship as I look into the
crowd how many of you own Apple products
let me see Mac books iPhones Apple
watches we can see that impact of being
a change agent that Steve Jobs has left
in the room here and globally I want you
to understand that you are limitless
and that Mike Jay Steve and I are no
different than anyone else in this room
I want you to embrace and learn from
your failures like Mike
not let others direct what you’re going
to do with your life like J and most
importantly know that you can be an
agent of change like Steve Jobs be great
be limitless thank you [Applause]
Please follow and like us: