1/ There is so much idol worship in Silicon Valley re: successful founders and investors. But there is a common denominator for success which is rarely addressed: Privilege

I want to confess my own journey of success, as it relates to Privilege.

2/ My Korean parents were poor when they arrived to the US, seeking opportunities for their future kids. Upon immigrating, my father Germanized the spelling of our last name (B-A-H-N), with the rational that a white-sounding last name would open up opportunities. I think it has.
3/ By the time I was born, my parents were doing very well. I never suffered their trauma of poverty. I lived in a big house and went to the best public schools. As a kid, I never felt like I was missing any resources.
4/ Partly because of my abundant resources, I was able to attend Stanford. Mom and Dad paid for that too, and I graduated with no debt. They even bought me a Honda after completing grad school! (I know, spoiled brat)
5/ With my family safety net, great education, zero debt, economy car, and abundance mindset--I went forth into the world ready to take huge risks. Taking risks was easy and natural, because I COULD AFFORD IT. Success followed.
6/ I’m not saying that I didn’t work hard throughout my journey; but Privilege was like a tailwind that seemed to accelerate my career.

So why raise the issue of Privilege?
7/ In Silicon Valley, Privilege seems more normal/common than not. It feels like so many founders/investors here aren’t running the same race as regular people. If this were a 100-meter dash, we got a 40-meter head start while everyone else waits at the starting line.
8/ Our team @HustleFundVC believes great founders look like anyone and come from anywhere--privileged or not. I’m starting to realize that Privilege should be an important factor in the assessment of founders.
9/ By better understanding a founder’s personal journey, we should use that knowledge to tare how far along privileged/unprivileged founders should perform across an equal timeline.
10/ Founders with a lot of resources will naturally report more progress than founders who have very little resources, over the same period of time. Both still could be equally great in outcome over the long term.
11/ I’m still thinking a lot about how to approach Privilege in Silicon Valley. As a starting point, I wish more people here would recognize it when discussing their ‘self-made’ success.

PS: big props to those founders/investors who have made it without Privilege.

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Margatha Natarajar murthi - Uthirakosamangai temple near Ramanathapuram,TN
#ArudraDarisanam
Unique Natarajar made of emerlad is abt 6 feet tall.
It is always covered with sandal paste.Only on Thriuvadhirai Star in month Margazhi-Nataraja can be worshipped without sandal paste.


After removing the sandal paste,day long rituals & various abhishekam will be
https://t.co/e1Ye8DrNWb day Maragatha Nataraja sannandhi will be closed after anointing the murthi with fresh sandal paste.Maragatha Natarajar is covered with sandal paste throughout the year


as Emerald has scientific property of its molecules getting disturbed when exposed to light/water/sound.This is an ancient Shiva temple considered to be 3000 years old -believed to be where Bhagwan Shiva gave Veda gyaana to Parvati Devi.This temple has some stunning sculptures.
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The first ever world map was sketched thousands of years ago by Indian saint
“Ramanujacharya” who simply translated the following verse from Mahabharat and gave the world its real face

In Mahabharat,it is described how 'Maharishi Ved Vyasa' gave away his divine vision to Sanjay


Dhritarashtra's charioteer so that he could describe him the events of the upcoming war.

But, even before questions of war could begin, Dhritarashtra asked him to describe how the world looks like from space.

This is how he described the face of the world:

सुदर्शनं प्रवक्ष्यामि द्वीपं तु कुरुनन्दन। परिमण्डलो महाराज द्वीपोऽसौ चक्रसंस्थितः॥
यथा हि पुरुषः पश्येदादर्शे मुखमात्मनः। एवं सुदर्शनद्वीपो दृश्यते चन्द्रमण्डले॥ द्विरंशे पिप्पलस्तत्र द्विरंशे च शशो महान्।

—वेद व्यास, भीष्म पर्व, महाभारत


Meaning:-

हे कुरुनन्दन ! सुदर्शन नामक यह द्वीप चक्र की भाँति गोलाकार स्थित है, जैसे पुरुष दर्पण में अपना मुख देखता है, उसी प्रकार यह द्वीप चन्द्रमण्डल में दिखायी देता है। इसके दो अंशो मे पीपल और दो अंशो मे विशाल शश (खरगोश) दिखायी देता है।


Meaning: "Just like a man sees his face in the mirror, so does the Earth appears in the Universe. In the first part you see leaves of the Peepal Tree, and in the next part you see a Rabbit."

Based on this shloka, Saint Ramanujacharya sketched out the map, but the world laughed