In today's podcast, I'm thrilled to share insights from the Behind Genius Ventures winter break college essay contest, which I launched in December. We received 20 diverse essays from schools like Cornell, Georgia Tech, UNC, SDSU and more. The prompt asked students to explore impactful problems in 1800 words or fewer, engaging the audience with expert quotes and a clear explanation of the problem's significance. The range of topics varied from smartphone addiction to the future of politics and AI in the creative cycle. As a 2020 graduate of San Diego State, I understand the financial challenges of college, making this essay contest, with its $500 prize, a chance to explore interesting topics, and shadow a venture capitalist, something I would have loved during my college days. Join me as I discuss and share excerpts from some standout essays, shedding light on what today's college students are thinking about.
Seed to Harvest is a podcast focused on stories & tactics from a diverse array of investors, founders, and creators, hosted by Paige Finn Doherty, a founding partner at Behind Genius Ventures and author of Seed to Harvest, an illustrated children's book for adults.
Connect with Paige 🌱💜
Behind Genius Ventures blog | https://www.behindgeniusventures.com/
Personal Blog | https://paigefinndoherty.com/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/paigefinnn
00:00 Welcome to Seed To Harvest: Paige Doherty
00:51 prompt of the BGV winter break college essay contest
02:03 topics of the essay contest
05:07 "The Higher Education in Southeast Asia"
08:23 AI: making the rich get richer and the poor get poorer
10:12 “Virtual Power Plants”
14:22 "Taking the Leap" (interplanetary travel)
18:10 the dangers of fast fashion
21:19 "Overlooked and Understudied: the Ovarian Hormone Cycle"
25:26 "Software Ate the World, but Hardware is Biting Back”
Show notes:
Zenith | https://www.zenithlearninggroup.com/
Prof Jim | https://www.profjim.com/
Matrix | https://mtx.gg/
Firefly Aerospace | https://fireflyspace.com/
Relativity Space | https://www.relativityspace.com/
Shein | https://us.shein.com/
Rubi Laboratories | https://www.rubi.earth/
Aavia | https://aavia.io/
In the FLO | https://www.amazon.com/FLO-Unlock-Hormonal-Advantage-
Revolutionize/dp/0062870483
Hearth Display | https://hearthdisplay.com/
The Last Gameboard | https://lastgameboard.com/
Aviron | https://www.avironactive.com/
Lotus Labs | https://www.getlotus.com/
USB Club | https://usbclub.net/
Humane's AI Pin Tab | https://hu.ma.ne/aipin
Rabbit r1 | https://www.rabbit.tech/