18 to 22 is an extremely young period in one's life.

without knowing what working in sf is like, or how to get there, you rely on patterns that worked before. you chase prestige. you look around at what everyone else is doing. you trust that a good school will unlock a good job. that's how so many of us end up in consulting or finance, and how so many leave a few years later.

startups are different. there's no pipeline, no straight path, no ladder to climb. no recruiters scouting you, no info sessions on campus. the opportunities don't find you.

tech hasn't asked for gpa since 2020. your portfolio is the new resume. your network truly is your net worth. it's competence, not degrees.

your degree isn't a moat anymore. your youth is. you have fewer data points, so you haven't learned which rules to follow, and you still have the audacity to break them. founders are looking for exactly that. the problem isn't that young people are getting fired. it's that they're never getting hired in the first place.

i did the clubs, the accelerator, the classes. none of them taught me what a few real conversations with people building in sf did. then one person took a shot on me, and it changed the trajectory of my life. i truly feel like i was handed that. not everyone is.

so we started bridges, so that luck doesn't depend on who you happen to know.

small dinners in sf. real founders, and cal students who are building something. we don't seat you by your gpa, your title or your club. we seat you by what you've made.

maybe the night shows you this is your path. maybe it shows you it isn't. either way, it's a meaningful data point, the way it was for me.

someone took a shot on me. this is me paying it forward.