Justin Kan Profile picture
19 Apr, 10 tweets, 11 min read
We are halfway through April, where we are celebrating Asian icons on @thequest_pod to #stopAAPIhate.

I want to bring back this gem from the archive w/ @jaesonma and his crazy stories: kicking it with @JLin7, working for @MCHammer, and founding @88rising.

[A video thread]
The #linsanity story is my favorite.

@jaesonma met @JLin7 before his big play for the @nyknicks. The young Jeremy was nervous: JMA thought he might get dropped.

Everything changed in MSG. 'You could feel the electricity. This was an AA moment 🇺🇸'

Seeing @JLin7 walk into the locker room, @jaesonma held prayers.

'[He was] glowing. Like a young David who just killed the Goliath.'

In a few weeks, #linsanity took over the world by storm.

'When one Asian talent breaks out, it changes the world.'

#Linsanity was a sign of God. @jaesonma knew he needed to start right away.

Through iterations and pivots, @88rising was born. The new Disney of Asian hip-hop.

From Rich Brian to Joji, JMA helped unleash a wave of creative Asian talents worldwide.

But that's not the whole story. How did @jaesonma get into media and tech?

His mentor was @MCHammer himself.

Seeing a 17-yo JMA working at a youth church, Hammer had a simple proposition.

'Why don't you quit your job and come work for me?'

You guessed it, @jaesonma did it in a heartbeat.

He drove @MCHammer around, going to @ycombinator events, meeting @Twitter and @YouTube founders before they made it.

He was way before the tech curve, ready for an investor career later on (@triller).

But founding and investing in companies is boring. @jaesonma is a hip-hop diehard fan at heart.

His first album was packed with Christian raps. Sermons over beats and spoken words.

His collaborator? Featuring no one else but @BrunoMars himself.

🤯

Liked this video thread? This is one of my favourite conversations at @thequest_pod and what keeps me going.

You can check out the full episode with video on The Quest YouTube channel: .

Subscribe for new video drops every Tuesday! Image
If you prefer podcasts instead, here's a link to the episode: justinkan.club/feed/jaeson-ma…

Drop me a review on iTunes! I read all of them.
Short on time? Check out a written chronology of JMA adventures with takeaways.

thequestpod.substack.com/p/the-quest-di…

Subscribe to my weekly for everything from The Quest, tech to wellness musings.

Hope you liked this thread!

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Justin Kan

Justin Kan Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @justinkan

22 Apr
@garrytan's initial investment of $300K in @coinbase since 2012 is now worth over $2 billion.

But his journey to success has been no fairytale.

Here's what you need to know about masks, expectations, and mental health in your own journey to success:
Garry grew up with an alcoholic father, and suffered abuse and traumatic events that affected him throughout his life.

A fearful mindset of scarcity was seared into his mind at a young age.
Throughout Garry’s life, extrinsic markers such as good grades, financial success, and even his YouTube channel have created a performance of his identity.

This mask was a defense mechanism against the painful world around him.
Read 13 tweets
15 Apr
Before applying to @ycombinator, read this thread.

Here's the story behind my shitty first company, Kiko, our *almost* trainwreck demo, and what I learned from going through the very first YC batch.
Kiko was founded with no skills and no money by three clueless college students: myself, Emmett (CEO of @Twitch) and Matt. At that point, I had never even worked at a full time job.
We were inspired by gmail, which had just come out at the time. We wanted to create a similar outlook-style calendar app to sync and share events.
Read 16 tweets
10 Apr
New episode of OnlyFriends is out now! This time, @mwseibel, @jamiequint, @tikhon, and I talk about:

- Hot takes on how the 1st remote YC batch went
- Jamie and Tikhon joined the dark side and raised a VC fund
- Donuts and the rise of vaccine passports

Let's play a game of who said what!

Which one of the OFs said this?

“3 days later, I’ve made it rain on Indian companies"
Which one of the OFs said this?

“Being a VC is possibly the easiest job on Earth. A lot of VCs will say that’s true, which is laughable to me”
Read 7 tweets
30 Mar
As a founder, I'm always asked: "how do I get hired at a startup?"

Dont worry, I got you.

Here's how to land a job at your dream startup:

{thread time}
Demonstrate that you’re awesome at 1 thing:

Startups are looking for people who have exceptional but specific skills. In your resume, show them what they are looking for and hammer down that point.
Keep your resume concise: If its not related to or helping with Point #1, keep it off!
Read 7 tweets
24 Mar
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Becoming a CEO:

Having conversations with people like @sophiaamoruso (The Cinderella of Tech!) is why I love doing @thequest_pod.

Here's some of the key lessons and takeaways from our chat:
1. Resilience can be a superpower.

Forbes listed Sophia as one of America’s 'richest self-made women' in 2016.

In 3 months, her company filed for bankruptcy; her wealth, marriage, and life crumbled away. She didn't give up.

Take your learnings from failure and move on.
2. Have a plan.

When you become an entrepreneur, learn from others so you have a basic understanding of things like board advisors, profit-loss statements, and culture.

Don't go in blind.
Read 5 tweets
8 Mar
Raising $ is hard.

(I've been on both sides of the table 😅)

Here's a 2-step guide on how to pitch investors for beginners:

[A thread]
Step 1. Create a powerful narrative

Investors might not like your business. But everyone loves a good story.

Stories are powerful tools to get people to understand and care about your ideas. Being overly technical in your pitch can be off-putting and not very compelling.
A simple narrative strucutre:

1️⃣ The world is a certain way (your problem)

2️⃣ Something changes (your solution)

3️⃣ The world is changed for the better (justify your solution).
Read 9 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!