Sue: "I think... that you’re better than you think you are... and that other people are just as lucky to be around you as you are to have the privilege to be around them.
I think I would tell myself to be careful and not be overly influenced by money or power that is held by other people -- that those things aren’t the most important things and they ought to have no impact on whether I am around those people."
Kate: "Can you give me a little more context on that? Like, what were you doing at 25… Where were you…?"
I think I would tell myself to be careful and not be overly influenced by money or power that is held by other people -- that those things aren’t the most important things and they ought to have no impact on whether I am around those people."
Kate: "Can you give me a little more context on that? Like, what were you doing at 25… Where were you…?"
Sue: "I don’t want to get more specific than that.
I tend to not be great at these kinds of things. Every now and then I’ll do an interview like this and for some reason I don’t have any regrets. I just don’t live life that way. People ask me these questions and I just think, “What do you mean? How could this have been better?”
My experience as a 25 year old was perfect. It happened exactly as it should have happened. And I really believe that. Why would I deprive myself of that learning-- that learning was f***ing great.
I started my career as a lawyer. I loved it. It was fantastic. And then I got to make the choice to between something that was fantastic and something that was even better. What a life experience, what a privilege, to make that kind of choice. I left the practice a few years after 25 -- more like 27 or so -- and got to pursue a career in business. But do I think I wasted my time in law first? Do I regret being a lawyer? No way!"
Kate: "This is so funny. I’ve been asking people this question for a year and a half and gotten all sorts of answers. And now, in the finals days, I’m talking to the most successful individuals of the whole project and they’re all saying the same thing -- that they wouldn’t have told themselves anything."
Sue: "Hah. Maybe that’s the ultimate lesson of your journey.
People are always saying failure is great, especially in startups, and that’s bullshit. Failure’s a total bummer. But this isn’t even failure. This is the ride. This is the ride.
My entire life has had a large delta between high and low. I’m an emotional, passionate person. That means I get my heart broken. But that’s how I know I’m alive. And I fall in love with both people and business ventures. With business you look at the financials and validate that shit but you’re just doing that to validate that... you’re in love.
You’re going to get your heart broken. But what else would you do? And isn’t that worth it? Otherwise you’d never get to fall in love in the first place."
I tend to not be great at these kinds of things. Every now and then I’ll do an interview like this and for some reason I don’t have any regrets. I just don’t live life that way. People ask me these questions and I just think, “What do you mean? How could this have been better?”
My experience as a 25 year old was perfect. It happened exactly as it should have happened. And I really believe that. Why would I deprive myself of that learning-- that learning was f***ing great.
I started my career as a lawyer. I loved it. It was fantastic. And then I got to make the choice to between something that was fantastic and something that was even better. What a life experience, what a privilege, to make that kind of choice. I left the practice a few years after 25 -- more like 27 or so -- and got to pursue a career in business. But do I think I wasted my time in law first? Do I regret being a lawyer? No way!"
Kate: "This is so funny. I’ve been asking people this question for a year and a half and gotten all sorts of answers. And now, in the finals days, I’m talking to the most successful individuals of the whole project and they’re all saying the same thing -- that they wouldn’t have told themselves anything."
Sue: "Hah. Maybe that’s the ultimate lesson of your journey.
People are always saying failure is great, especially in startups, and that’s bullshit. Failure’s a total bummer. But this isn’t even failure. This is the ride. This is the ride.
My entire life has had a large delta between high and low. I’m an emotional, passionate person. That means I get my heart broken. But that’s how I know I’m alive. And I fall in love with both people and business ventures. With business you look at the financials and validate that shit but you’re just doing that to validate that... you’re in love.
You’re going to get your heart broken. But what else would you do? And isn’t that worth it? Otherwise you’d never get to fall in love in the first place."