Month: April 2016

Try not to become a man of success, but rather a man of value

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“try not to become a man of success, but rather a man of value”-Albert Einstein

By: Eli Karam

Work for something more than just money, for something BIGGER and bolder than you currently are. Work at your DREAM. Work on YOURSELF. Work on changing things that need changing. WORK because YOU WANT TO, HAVE TO and LOVE TO.

Ruben Chavez says “Don’t worry about trying to find your life purpose. Instead, start by acting on the small things that excite you each day. These are the threads that will connect you to your path, passion, and purpose in life”.

I know the feeling of trying to look into the future, trying to find where you will be in ten years from now, or what your net worth will be by the time you are in your 30’s. But then I came across this quote and I realized as long as I am doing what I love, motivated by the work I do, and surrounded by wolves who share the same mentality and mindset as me….I know I will be where I want to be. The top gets higher the more that we climb, and that is ok. EntreWolves don’t stop, they keep going! LOVE what you do, be a savant at it, master it. Let people see the fire in your eyes and know this is your forte. Be HUMBLE, be HUNGRY, and always be the hardest worker in the room.

Silicon Valley vs. Wall Street. Which one to choose?

 

Silcion Valley vs Wall St PIC

“With innovative talent more attracted to other industries such as software and computer services, it may challenge the banks’ ability to respond to threats from non-bank challengers such as FinTechs and tech titans”

By: Eli Karam

Ah yes, the good old “My dream is to work in banking on Wall Street” saying that any person in the business/finance world has imagined for themselves. Many males studying Finance, Economics, or Business around the age of 18-26 have this embedded in their mind the minute they went to business school. I know many guys around my age that fell in love with working on Wall St. after watching the classic 1987 film and hearing Gordon Gekko’s infamous quote “greed is good”. Fast forward twenty so years and films like The Boiler Room (2000) & The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) add on to this euphoric effect. People viewed Wall St. as the gold mine to land a job in. Where if you put in the grueling amount of work, the money, women, cars, pent-houses, money, champagne, and did I forget…money, will come!

For my ambiguity, working on Wall Street was different. I’m not going to lie, yes the money aspect is awesome, but in all honesty I fell in love with the drive. I was infatuated with the idea of always being busy, being pushed, thrown to the wolves and forced to fight your way to the top. It’s a new era, and Silicon Valley is the new place to be.

While Vice President of the Bentley Venture Capital/Private Equity club, I had the privelge to interview many venture capitalists and learn more about their start up success stories. It was here that I realized the business technology & software scene was my true calling! Tech has been the new hot spot to be over banking. Wall Street isn’t the same, it’s not what it used to be in my opinion and the amount of money to be made is not that attainable as in the startup/entrepreneurship scene. According to Nicki Richards (view link under photo), “Banking has lost some of its glamour, Banks are just not seen as engaging or interesting places to work as much as they were before”.

It’s not the 80’s anymore where some Jordan Belfort’s can just come in and sweep up some easy money. After multiple fraud, ponschi-sceme, and corporation scandals, the SEC has cracked down on Wall Street banks. Add the 2008 financial crisis, and the golden mine that once was Wall Street starts to drift away. What do you think? S.V or Wall St?

Is Artificial Intelligence our Friend or Foe?
‘Ava’ in Ex-Machina
Microsoft’s ‘Tay’

A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human,”-Alan Turner

 

By: Eli Karam

Lately I have found myself immensely inclined and fascinated with Artificial Intelligence, and the future of technology. Now before you say anything, this isn’t some crazy guy sitting in his PJ’s surrounded by empty Mountain Dew bottles (not yet at least) writing about a robot machine apocalypse as in the Terminator series. I am here to touch on the fact that we humans have evolved immensely from where we were 20 years ago. We are consumed by technology, and it is only advancing. I am so impressed by what we have accomplished that I really started thinking of a world where AI’s could interact with humans on a daily basis.

We have seen this slightly with Siri, Eva, or apps similar but are these intelligent? Turner said if a machine can deceive a human into thinking it was in fact human, then that machine can be labeled as ‘intelligent’. So for example when you interact with Siri, you know it isn’t human by her verbiage, and how her answers are more facts than opinion. So fascinated by this, I recently watched Ex-Machina (2015), Transcendence (2014), & Her (2013); which are films I highly recommend watching to understand more about AI in the future. Will Smith’s iRobot is also a classic must watch as well.

IBM has created their version of an AI named Watson, which is pretty impressive if you have seen the commercials of ‘it’ interacting with celebrities like Ron Howard. Microsoft has also been toying around with an AI of their own, named Tay. The article below is really a must read! It’s pretty funny to say the least but also kind of scary. Basically Microsoft had to shutdown Tay after she started commenting racial jargons to users on Twitter. They code AI’s to “learn from those it interacts with”. Turner believed machines have the capacity for creativity, which is exactly what Tay executed in a satire but degrading way. What do you think? Can you imagine a world with AI’s? Email me your thoughts or comment below!

http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/24/microsoft-silences-its-new-a-i-bot-tay-after-twitter-users-teach-it-racism/

 

The Pack Is Back…and We’re Hungry

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Check out some photos of my transition: Graduation, Lebanon, Wall St.NY, Austin-TX

By: Eli Karam
It has been an arduous journey since my last post over a year ago. Where was I? What was I doing? Well I graduated from Bentley University, one of the top business school curriculums in the country. After that I wrapped up my internship and took a well needed vacation to my homeland…Lebanon! It was rejuvenating to say the least. I came back in August a new man, with a brand new perspective. I had time to meet old friends and family, relax on the beach, hike the illustrious mountains of the North, and ponder my future. For I knew once I came back to the states, the fun was over and it was time to start my career path.

I had the privilege to interview on Wall Street-NY, Austin-TX, and of course the city I was bred in…Boston-MA. After long nights of prepping for interviews, studying, and traveling, it boiled down to choosing the company that I felt I could grow with the most. I am currently working at HubSpot in Cambridge, doing a mix of Finance, Accounting, & Sales, and I can assertively say I made the right decision. ( I will release a post soon on the culture here and how we are changing the way businesses grow…more to come!)

It was tough for me to constantly update my blog while in the interviewing process and adjusting to a new job. For those who emailed me saying they needed more motivational advice or just some business wit to read, I can assure you the wolf pack has resurrected. We’re hungry, we’re ready, and we’re here to stay.

 

You Are Afraid of Being Different, I am Afraid of Being the Same

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“All humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA” –Reid Hoffman              

 By: Eli Karam

You connect with people who share the same interests as you, the same mentality, the same ferocity, the same HUNGER. A wolf pack cannot survive without working in a pack and that is what me and my networks have created and this is how we refer to ourselves. We boost each other’s motivation and drive each day, and work as a team to brainstorm lucrative business ideas. We call each other a pack and we watch out for one another. It’s more than a saying, it’s a way of life.

Some people might not understand this, or think it’s a waste of time. But to anyone reading this who has the fire in them to excel, the yearning to achieve success, and the mentality to make something of themselves, I tell you, DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. People fear what they don’t understand.

If you’re thinking “Ok guy, take it down a notch, don’t get ahead of yourself”. All I’m saying is it doesn’t hurt to brainstorm, it doesn’t hurt to believe, it doesn’t hurt to network with people who give you that drive & motivation that many people don’t have. I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I didn’t have a family that raised me to be a gentleman and predominantly pushed me to be the best that I can be. I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I didn’t have the right professors, mentors, or friends, to educate me on new ways of thinking and motivate me to succeed.

HubSpot CTO & Co-Founder Dharmesh Shah said “success is making those who believed in you look brilliant”. Don’t you love that feeling when you teach someone something, or do something in front of someone, and you then see them execute it sometime after? Well it is the same way for everyone who pushed us to be great, and believed in us when others didn’t. It’s time EntreWolves, let’s make everyone who brought us to where we’re at today look brilliant. The future is here, it’s knocking on your front door. It’s up to YOU to decide if you want to open it or calmly sit back and ignore.