sf diaries
it's jan 2025. i left behind korea and moved to sf build my startup.
i'm feeling excited, nervous, & curious about living in a 9 bedroom apartmen in the Mission with 17 roommates, all young(er than me) builders + founders. i moved into a founder house, sf2, with the residency
theres grace, shes building 'perfect empathy'. a way to feel others emotions using brain computer interfaces.
sully is building self replicating von neumann machines to seed life on other planets.
carter, ever fashionable, building a hardware firm, among many other things.
aaliya is obsessed with helping people with adhd actually finish tasks.
rohan's solving back pain with wearable devices.
& kylin!! hes solving acl injuries by developing an exoskeleton airbag for your knee that detects abnormal acl movement & deploys pre-acl tear.
we had 17 builders living under one roof. i learned from each of them everyday.
the room that i moved into previously had a 19 yr old builder who just got funded ~800k building The world's first carbon-zero rare earths startup. (insane 🤯). i was skipping my community college classes to play League of Legends at 19.......... and working at Chili's as a waitress.
i feel really lucky to be here. in sf.
i think a mistake i made in the first couple of months was going to too many events, though. they're fun but as a founder, i think you should only go to events in sf if you're actively raising, speaking at the event, or have another very good reason to be there. otherwise, its been a waste of time in my experience. the networking is fun, but this is the time to build fast and focusing your time and energy on the right things is important to succeed in the fast paced ai-tech world of sf.
however, would highly recommend ANY woman-led events in sf if you're a woman! this women in AI event at a16z was 10/10
i loved my time at the residency and i recommend anyone to apply. the residency it's been an amazing experience, theres tons of support for founders esp if you're raising, looking for a cofounder, or just need a place to grind surrounded by inspiring people.
heres a list of some of my favorite things ive done in sf so far:
- running around dolores park
- walking down fishermans wharf with f.inc friends
- getting 13 books at the a16z office's free library (my uber drivers face was priceless seeing a 5 foot nothing girl with a stack of books up to my neck)
- taking waymos everwhere!
- seeing the inside of the sf opera house
- being surrounded by fellow techies at any given coffee shop
- the little free libraries around the city
- tacos in the Mission
- my first Giants game
- and many more to come :)
that's all for now,
talk soon
♡, Ashley