Q2 2024
life news, project updates, cool links, and pics from the last 3mo
I’m 6 months out of high school, we’re already over halfway through the year, and boy do I have a lot to fill you in on.
Before getting into what I’ve been working on at On Deck, it might be useful to zoom out and share some context.
Goldilocks period 🍯
For the greater part of the past four years, I lived in what felt like a Goldilocks period. A period where, *if you’re fortunate enough*, a few key conditions can be present all at once: 1) free from financial responsibility 2) an empty calendar 3) an unburdened imagination. Between the ages of 13-17 I was not asked to get a job and provide for myself. Aside from school and family, I didn’t have any major obligations. My kid brain was thriving, unburdened by the adult realities of taxes, office politics, and driver’s license tests.
I used that period to build as many communities, startups, and side projects as I could — many without business plans or incentives. A great aspect of this Goldilocks period is that, if you’re lucky, your ideas aren’t restricted by the need to pay rent or buy food.
Over the past few years, a couple of no-strings-attached grants played huge roles in my trajectory. Not only did they significantly impact the projects they were meant to support, but they upgraded my path as a whole. Two of my favorite projects, Buildergroop and UltraRice were entirely grant-funded.
These experiences fueled the kind of work I set out to do upon graduating high school, and I’ll tell you how this all translated into the work I’m doing now at On Deck.
Updates 🗞️
Julian (CEO/Co-Founder of On Deck) and I wanted to amplify and accelerate projects born out of goldilocks periods like the one mentioned above. We also wanted to try and kick off these goldilocks projects for people no matter their point in time. We set ourselves to the task of seeking projects that may or may not become startups, but that are compelling, creative, and (most frequently) technical.
To do this, we sprouted a new community called Merge: a club for microgrant recipients working on big ideas. It’s a new space where technical builders can meet new technical friends and accelerate their projects.
In addition, we’re also giving a “small amount of money and a large amount of encouragement” with our $50-$1,000 microgrants. Applications are screened, grantees are interviewed, and decisions are made by club members. We’re currently in the process of giving out our first handful of grants. Amongst them is one to help solve stuttering and another to build the largest public database of phages ever. There even seems to be a trend emerging of Mergers finding increasing support within the community and follow-on funding from other grant programs.
Looking to apply for grants? Check out our Grant Guide. View quick facts about each program, resources, and video reviews from recipients/fellows. Expect updates soon :)
More on Mergers: you can listen on Spotify and YouTube about their stories, projects, learnings, and grant experiences. Our next one drops next week.
🥯 New project
My friends and I spun up a new project called Bagel Fund (mmmm 🤤🥯). It’s a microgrant program for young builders working on really cool projects. See a trend here?
So far we’ve funded 7 people working on things like embedding miraculin proteins into apples (think: enchanted apples in Minecraft) and self-driving RC cars. One grantee even made this awesome video about his project called the Grandma Saver:
Want to help us make young people's dreams come true? Fill out this form to become a donor.
📸 Photography Lounge
July 4th was not only America’s birthday but also Photography Lounge’s! I was 15 when I started the community, wanting to spend less time on Instagram and more time with photographers on Discord. It’s been jaw-dropping to watch the community take flight in the four years since, becoming the largest and most active hub of photographers on the platform.
My luck finding a great volunteer team to run the community is also nothing short of jaw-dropping. Without Ced, Ziv, and Seth, the community wouldn’t thrive like it does today.
In the past month, we’ve also begun successfully tracking commissions on photography gear purchases made by members. In our first 25 days, we’ve seen $6k in total order value, all of which gets funneled back into the community.
🌾 UltraRice
Progress continues at UltraRice. After an extensive search, I’m very excited to welcome Aliyan to the team. Aliyan is one of the most cracked biotech TKS alumni I know, writing papers on carbon capture, growing algae in his basement, and most recently working on his very own bioreactor.
Numbers 📊
UltraRice 🌾
$15.8k+ in the bank
2 months left in our planned research phase
Photography Lounge 📸
19.5k+ members (11% increase)
10.9M+ messages (17% increase)
618k+ images sent (16% increase)
Bagel Fund 🥯
$1.9k total deployed
$3.3k total raised
Links 👀
Must-watch shows and movies 🎞️
Perfect Days, Hulu
American Fiction, Amazon Prime Video
The Fundamentals of the Taiwan Conflict, YouTube
Killers of the Flower Moon, Apple TV
Top-notch links and resources 🔥
Shortages of a 193-year-old piece of tech have put the US electrical grid on the brink, Sherwood News
Situational Awareness, Leopold Aschenbrenner
Grant Guide, Merge Club
Baseline Fame, Anu Atluru
Earlier Arriver Arbitrage, Anu Atluru
Scrapbook 🤳🏼
Here are some photos from the past 3mo in Connecticut. I’ll be heading to San Francisco in August, so you best believe I’ve been stocking up on film. Expect extensive documentation when you hear from me next in Q3.
Thank you alexa, jack, mom, and andrew for reading drafts of this.
see you next quarter 👋🏼