Favorite Parts Of Being A Co-Founder At Lost Abroad
Jack, Co-Founder and Chief Education Officer at Lost Abroad, most enjoys the "sense of self-causation" in their role, finding immense satisfaction in quickly turning ideas—"from zero to one"—into reality within the dynamic startup environment. This rapid turnaround and instant feedback loop, unlike larger corporate settings, creates an "addictive" experience of creating something tangible.
Entrepreneurship, Startup, Innovation, Problem-Solving, Self-Motivation
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Jack (Xinkang) Du
Co-Founder, Principal Educator/Chief Education Officer, CMO
Lost Abroad (lostabroadgame.com)
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. 2009
Bachelor of Science with Honors (Master's equivalent in commonwealth countries): marine biology and quantitative genetics/marine biology, 2012; Graduate Diploma of Teaching, 2015, both are from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management, 2022
Business Management & Admin
Education
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
International Student, Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. No two days are the same; the work is always different.
2. The ability to create something from an idea and see it implemented quickly.
3. The immediate feedback and sense of self-causation in a small startup environment are addictive and unlike anything else.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about your current role?
One aspect is that no two days are the same. There's always something going on that's different.
As a co-founder of a very small startup, you have a lot of firefighting moments. There's always something to fix. But it's not repetitive.
The most satisfaction comes from the sense of self-causation. It's the sensation of being able to create something from just an idea and turn it into something real. It's like going from zero to one, which is super exciting.
The turnaround in a small startup is so quick that you feel instant feedback. If you had an idea in a corporate job, it might never get implemented, or it could take years. But I can have an idea in the shower, jump out, write it down, and by the next day's meeting, it can be a function in the game.
That level of self-causation is addictive. Nothing else can give you that sensation, so I really love that.