collide

funny how the best things happen when worlds collide.

last week was a mix: tech talks, startup pitches, diwali celebrations, dance floors. seems random, but there's a thread.

at techcrunch disrupt, while everyone was hunting for the next big thing, i found myself talking to the chainsmokers. yeah, those guys whose songs we secretly still sing in the shower. they're deep into B2B startups now with mantis vc. watching them geek out over chainguard (where i interned) made me realize: maybe real innovation isn't coming from the usual suspects.

later, took caltrain to stanford. campus was lit up for diwali—literal light in the darkness. between the samosas and chutney, i kept thinking about how we're all just trying to build stuff that brings more light into the world.

then there was a fancy penthouse event with signalfire. the view was great, but the real thing was watching people sync up, sharing ideas that shouldn't work together but somehow do.

the best part? hosting phoebe gates for a fireside chat. could've been another tech talk, but she's shaking up fashion with phia, making sustainability actually cool. "nothing starts perfect, ideas evolve," she said. felt real.

i ran the event remote from sf while my GDSC team (hailey, deniz, you know who you are) crushed it on campus. seeing faces light up across stanford, RIT, ucla, st andrews—felt like one of those rare moments when you can see connections form.

maybe that's the secret. not pitch decks or perfect credentials. it's what happens when EDM producers fund cybersecurity, when fashion meets climate activism, when tradition collides with the future.

still figuring it out, but i'm starting to think the magic's in the collisions