Day 20 of 38: The Realization.

By Olga Perfilieva, Product & Design Track

Hi, my name is Olga Perfilieva, I am Product and Design Student at Startup Institute New York, and today it finally dawned on me. Today was the day it all came into focus. So here it is.

We - the 41 students of the inaugural New York class - are the first products of our own startup. Being part of this program is not just about being a student. We are all reimagining ourselves.  Everyone here has a unique background and perspective yet despite our differences, we all have the same goal: to leave this program prepared to make an impact. Whether some of us want to launch our own company, or catalyze the growth of an existing one, we are all ready to dive head first into uncharted waters.

At week five of eight, we are all exhausted and sleep-deprived. Every day is different. Working extremely hard is now simply status quo. New terms, new skills and new ways of thinking.   In less than a month, there has already been an undeniable metamorphosis in how we see the world and its possibilities. The amazing speakers we’ve met have made it clear the startup world is the place for us, that the abilities we are developing now are the keys to our future.

We juggle a thousand things, work as teams, learn from each other, sharpen our coding and research. With the little time left to spare, we socialize. We laugh. We go to multiple events where we network and make it known we’re here to make things happen. We take on the unexpected without hesitation and don’t stop until we’ve succeeded. We experiment and iterate until we’ve struck gold.

We’re creating new amazing products and the quantity is 41. We are immersed in the startup world and this is not just a school, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At the end of this I will say with confidence that I have worked for a company making some of the best products out there: the inaugural class of Startup Institute New York!