Justin Kan Profile picture
22 Apr, 13 tweets, 3 min read
@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.
I struggled with this too, as someone who used to heavily peg my own self-worth on impressing those around me, and obsessively giving a good 'performance' of myself.

The companies I built, the success and accolades I received were mostly for extrinsic validation.
For both garry and I, learning to let go of this mask was a terrifying, but necessary step.

Embracing vulnerability and trust was what allowed us to truly connect with others and accept ourselves in a genuine manner.
Garry's father imposed harsh expectations on him, and this manifested in ugly ways even though deep down it was motivated by love. Expressions of such expectations can twist even 'love' into something sinister and ugly.
Key Lessons I learned from talking with Garry:
1: Start therapy work early

It took us years to realize that the simple narratives that we often tell ourselves aren't always true. The earlier you get to work on yourself, the better. Book in a therapy session and start on that process.
2: Let down your mask

Behind every mask is a story, and knowing that story helps us to truly connect with each other. When you are upfront about the battles you are fighting, you gain more respect and affinity as a leader.
3: Expectations can be destructive

Knowing how dangerous expectations can be, both for yourself and other people, is extremely important to finding happiness for yourself and the ones you care about. Don't impose or project your pain onto people you love.
You can read the whole article, including a story about how Yahoo almost bought my web calendar app for $1 million on my weekly newsletter: (below)
Subscribe to read all my thoughts - from startup, business, and tech advice to wellbeing and everything in between.

thequestpod.substack.com/p/therapy-mask…
Check out my brand new YouTube channel for my podcast @thequest_pod, to catch all the amazing conversations with my guests:

youtube.com/channel/UC8xRI…

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More from @justinkan

19 Apr
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.'

Read 10 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

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