Ramy Zhang
Don't think, just do. Your first article, video, focus presentation, will always suck and that's okay, because the more you practice and build those skills, the less you'll suck.
Vishanth
Advice #1: I promise you the person sitting next to you will not laugh at you if you say hi to them. Start a conversation, you never know where it will go. Every great innovation has started with a conversation so remember people are everything and you will not grow without strong, healthy relationships.
Advice #2: Perceived risk is higher than actual risk. If you walk up to someone and say "hey what's up?" they are likely going to engage you in a conversation rather than run away. Get out of your head and just try.
Ayleen Farnood
Relationships are going to be soo important both now and in the future. Get to know as many TKS students as possible and don't be afraid to make new friends!
Ben Nashman
Realize that solving big problems is hard and takes time. But, it's important to understand that the focus should not be on the end-goal, but on the process of getting there. It's more fun to be working on a solution than to be reflecting on one. Also, focus on building strong relationships and just talk to as many people as possible. Having like-minded friends is the best way to achieve better mindsets and will help you tackle problems by motivating you and providing additional perspectives.
Ahmed Moselhi
Don’t ever EVER doubt yourself and what you can accomplish, that’s one of the biggest mistakes you could make in the program. The worst habit to have is the one where you fail to change habits. Always have long term and short term goals. Be open to change them.
Rikard Saqe
Don't be afraid to go deep into something because you're uncertain it is what you actually want to do. It probably isn't! But, that doesn't matter, at all. The only way you will find what excites you is by putting in the work to find it. Have a 10 year perspective on your learning, not a 10 month one, and realize that all you are doing right now is accumulating pieces of knowledge that will help you later; you have plenty of time to explore everything! The most important thing TKS can give you is the network of awesome people around you, make sure to take advantage of that! Your number 1 goal should be to make as many awesome relationships as possible.
Kritik
TRUST THE PROCESS. Do something that takes you closer to your goals EVERYDAY, even if it's just 20 minutes. Consistency beats intensity. Rome wasn't built in one day.
Shagun
Trust the process of your focus and just produce results as quickly as you can. Don’t worry about not getting immediate recognition as you can be sure it will benefit you in more ways you can imagine in the end.Always participate in sessions. The session is legit a training ground for you, don’t be shy or insecure about what you say. Say something stupid and you can only improve from there until you say something smart that adds value. You will never be able to say something smart unless you first start with something “stupid” so just don’t hold back. Don’t be intimidated by Navid & Nadeem [and your directors] they are a resource there to help you so extract as much value and leave an impression as soon as you can. Actively make an effort to form a relationship with the people around you. They will only help you grow. Add value to the slack because then people will be more likely to add value back and the value you get on a daily basis will only compound.
Vedant Gupta
1) Expect the results to take time, but don't give up.
2) Trust the process. Come in with an open mind and don't be arrogant. Despite how smart you think you are, you don't know always know what is best for you because you haven't tried these new things.
3) Meet everyone. Why wouldn't you?
Alim Bhatia
Get started early and don't overthink anything. The faster you start grinding, the faster you start growing. Simple as that. Find something you are really passionate about and just run with it. When you find yourself super invested and fascinated with a topic/focus area, learn as much as you can in the space and don't overthink jumping into a focus. Just do it and see where it takes you. You won't regret it.
Alishba
Start your focus now!! Don’t overthink it or try to plan it out. There’s no right way to do it. Just trust yourself and work on projects which get you excited. Trust the process because it’ll help you a ton.
Samarth
Getting into a focus is a superpower it will unlock a ton of extremely unique opportunities. Find your passion as soon as possible and work extremely hard at it!
Mekaeel
Join velocity. Do 5 braindates a week properly. Be active on slack. Do shit. Done is better than perfect.
Luke Piette
1. Do a focus right off the bat.
2. Set up as many brain dates as you can
3. Don't lose sight of the goal/what everything is actually for (people get resentful at other people's opportunities, just know that ops right now don't matter as much as 15 years down the line)
4. Stay laser focused on your work, but also don't overfit the TKS model. The people I look up to most in TKS aren't those who follow the process 100%, it's those that are doing a bunch of cool shit on the side. Branch out and be unique in the TKS environment
5. Focus 100% in session, they only come once a week
6. Do the stuff they say, even though it might sound dumb, just do it. You either do 100% of 0%, pick the 100% and if you fail and you put 100% in it could be just luck or just a flaw in the process that will be reiterated overtime. Worst case scenario isn't that bad
7. Know your worst case scenario, understand that most things are earned.Â
Noumaan Kaleem
PUT IN THE WORK FROM DAY ONE!! DON'T PROCRASTINATE!
Sohail Sayed
I'm going to keep the advice simple and specific:
- Make as many friends as you can, and invest in good friendships early on.
- Do DAILY UPDATES. They help organize your day and keep you accountable so much.
- Don't worry about being 100% perfect the first time. Or the second time for that matter. Get stuff done.
- If you're stuck in a slump on something, don't hesitate to try a new project/objective.
- LEARN CODING and don't cheat/copy paste on your replicates. You're only hurting your own growth.
- Go to the TKSpace as often as you can. Even if its slightly expensive/time costly. You're making an investment into building relationships with future unicorn people which is worth it.
- If you dont do something, be honest about it. This is isnt school. BSing doesnt help, because your not getting a grade. Honesty and integrity go long ways on defining your character
- Before starting a focus, try spending some time thinking about what you want to do and what direction to go in. That being said, dont spend too long on this and if your unsure but really wanna try a focus just do it. The worst thing you can do is just think and not actually get anything done.
Ayaan Esmail
- Don’t think about it like a extra circular, it’s a mindset, a way of living!
- You put in the work and time, your life changes, if you don’t you can hop back into the stream of mediocrity.
- Make sure to always be thinking and acting, never become complacent because now that you’re in this environment that literally 0.00000001% of the world is exposed to, make sure to make the most of it.
Mayank
Don't compare your initial progress to other people. People should go hard into their focus as soon as they can. Aim to do at least 2 focuses! Making connections with other TKS people is soo valuable. I learn stuff 90% of the times I meet with them. Almost 1/2Â the opportunities I got this year were from other TKS people. Do focus presentations before winter break. It's good to do it early + the queue gets crazy in January
Hannah
-Mindset is literally EVERYTHING. Don't worry about Imposter Syndrome or not knowing enough about stuff. You never will. Just train your mind to be resilient and learn as fast as possible. It's going to be a much better use of your time.
-Cold emailing people can open unexpected opportunities. I emailed Laura Deming once and she decided to fly me down to SF.
-Be a person who smiles a lot and has great energy. It's an automatic plus when people meet you and makes them want to be around you more :)
-Build a circle of friends where people are excellent in dimensions you're not (And you're good at something they aren't). Let go of relationships that make you feel unmotivated and sad. They don't deserve your time.
-Being organized is underrated. Have a spreadsheet with checklists of things you need to get done in a day and create a system that makes it easy to get things done (For example, clean room, sticky notes, white boards, etc.)
-Help people without expecting things in return. Strive to be valuable in every group setting.-If you don't speak, absolutely ZERO chance of creating an impression. So ask yourself if you want to be remembered or forgotten.
-You can do SO MUCH more than you think you can!
Tanisha
Cherish TKS because it will change your life if you let it. It’ll teach you how to be the best version of yourself so what’s most important is to not give up on yourself and grow with program. Make sure to make lots of friends because everyone around you is amazing and can teach you something. Always have a smile on your face and start learning how to be grateful for life as it’ll help you become 10X happier.
Nazra
Follow the process. Just do it. Don’t think too much or too hard about it. Complete a few explore modules, get into a focus. Think long term, you don’t have to spend a lot of time thinking about which focus you should choose, just deep dive into one. You might not think you have time, but you do! You decide & choose wether TKS is a priority for you. Remember, school is not the real world - this is.
Andrew Benn
To value relationships and try to create as many as possible.
Amsal Gilani
Don't stress over what others are doing and how much they are doing. Go at your own pace in your Focus. This is not a race - it's about learning and that is what is valued at TKS and in the real world.
Arisa Kherani
Work as much as you can in your focus at the beginning of the year as much you can since challenges answer velocity will be taking up a lot of your time. DO hangouts EARLY and ALWAYS because the TKS community ISÂ one of the most valuable parts of TKS
Ananya Chadha
Think different ;)
Nikhil Trehan
Just go hard. It might seem like you have hundreds of other things to do that you need to prioritize more but honestly just go hard into TKS because you’ll only ever get amazing value.
Arnav
- Start your focus by the end of October
- When you start your focus, just jump into it and start learning stuff, but be patient and persistent.
- Start off by following tutorials, but really understand what's going on when you're making your articles/videos. Be LEGIT!
- Get to know as many people as possible
- Don't be intimidated by the activate kids, they're really approachable
- Keep your teachers updated with what you're doing, and try to stay up to date with work (depending on your priorities, the work doesn't have to be of the highest quality)
- Post on slack (think about how you can add the most value to the community)
- Go to the space, it's a great place to hang out and get to know people
Khushi
My advice is to find something you are very passionate about (what's the point of doing a focus if you don't even like it?) and stay motivated to do it. Also, build as many relationships as possible and just hang out with people everyone is super approachable but it's your job to talk to them. Finally, join a bunch of slack channels (the ones that interest you obviously) you will get enormous amounts of value!
Brianna Gopaul
1. Talk to people, go on braindates and don't stay within a shell. Having friends while going through the process makes it 10x times more enjoyable.
2. Be honest and open with Navid and Nadeem [and your directors], they're humans too and they're willing to give you honest advice when you ASK for it.
3. ASK for it, ask for feedback constantly but also keep in mind that they have limited time. 4. Set goals, track progress and iterate on feedback and repeat.
Mishaal Lakhani
- JUST LEARN HOW TO CODE ALREADY
- You will find people to be close friends with, just look everywhere
- Time put in and results achieved. Track that
- Don't compare yourself with others, compare you to you
- Do stuff that interests you and do a lot of it
- Blindly just ttp (trust the process). Like give your 200% from day one
- Doesn't matter if you're older and have less time and younger people are doing greater stuff than you did at that age. You are not them. Become the best version of yourself, and just GSD
- Work on cool problems
- BE RESOURCEFUL do not reinvent the wheel for gods sake. Just go online and search and ask what others around you are using and then make decisions
- ask for advice, don't hesitate
- become close with your directors early on, ask specific questions and get guidance
Nyla
Don’t be afraid to talk to people. Everyone is so nice. Step outside your comfort zone because it’s the best way to find your person / people.
Liam Hinzman
- Start a focus now
- Start making content now, and do it frequently. Learning is important, but so is what's outward facing.
- If you're doing a focus in AI learn how to program in Python.
- Do things that make you uncomfortable. These are areas you have the most to improve in. If you're bad at talking to people, go to tons of networking events.
- Build relationships. Hangout with people in TKS, they're all awesome.
Armaan Merchant
TKS will unlock your full potential, will change you so, don't try and be to compete with fellow TKStudents. Trust the process, make friends, give it your all. Adopt TKS as a lifestyle and you'll see results.
Michael Trinh
- Start your focus early
- Try not to get side tracked by your school community activities from tks, one is truly a unique experience - Prirotize relationship building, and it'll be easier once you have a focus done
- Go to hackathons with TKS people
- Don't do dinner or lunch braindates, rather do adventures
- Healthy body, healthy mind, that's where it's at
- Intrinsic motivation cannot be sold to you, the most we can do is help guide you to find it
- Passion isn't found in the floor randomly, it comes with time and work
- Post in slack and write takeaways on readings
Shifra Khan
TRUST THE PROCESS — listen to Navid+Nadeem.
They’re literally SO invested in making sure you reach your full potential. If things don’t click immediately, TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE. We’ve all gone through pretty much the same stuff. PRODUCE CONTENT. It helps legitimize yourself + allows you to have really good conversations.
Mikhail Szugalew
Start your focus early! Dont procrastinate on this because it actually has the potential to add significant value to your life. When its time for internship applications or applying to speak at conferences, you dont want to be behind in your focus.
Swarit
- Be super critical about your time
- Spend time to explore what you could work on, don't just limit yourself to the one or two things you know about/are comfortable with going in
- Make an effort to get to know everyone starting day 1
- ill text u more as it comes to mind
Guus van der Donk
Make sure to find a topic you like to focus on.
Jaden Bhimani
Forget everything you think you know. You're Elon Musk before he was Elon Musk, and he didn't get there by listening to and doing what everyone else says.
Riya Kumar
Put in the work, and really internalize what you learn here at TKS, it is extremely valuable knowledge.
Navya Riju
1. Start your focus early!!!! This is literally what sets you apart from everyone else, and will make you legit. Don't slack off and continuously be motivated to do objectives in your focus.
2. Go hard on the challenges! I think these are super important because no other kid in the world gets an opportunity to actually make a difference in a real company. Not only is it cool but you're going to learn so much from this that is soo important - so ask good questions, and don't slack off.
3. Always.Get.Feedback. - Feedback is actually so important and asking Navid or Nadeem for feedback can actually be so helpful. Ask for feedback early, don't wait for the last possible moment.
Ria C.
1) Take TKS seriously from the start. Never miss an opportunity to hustle and put yourself out there.
2) Done > Perfect
Sabarish
Work hard without expecting results. Don't try to do what you *think* is right, base your decisions off mental models of smarter people, aka Navid and Nadeem [and your directors] ;)
Riya
Start a focus ASAP. Time goes by SO fast and you gotta make the most of the program. Leverage all the resources available to you. While focusing on developing your knowledge in a focus area/create a technical basis, honestly personal development and mindset is just as important and don't lose sight of that. You'll just be so much happier in general and will be internally motivated to put in your 100%. Having a really close friend to lean on, motivate you and act as your third eye like Navid & Nadeem say is so important. Having one for me is legit amazing and I'm so grateful, and I think it can help keep you accountable as well while having someone to motivate you that you're close with.
Anupra
1. Build relationships as early as possible. Talk to people, set up hangouts, and don't make many assumptions about people. You're literally surrounded by people with similar goals to you and who you could start a company with one day, so get to know them!
2. Go deep in your focus, always ask why, and have a goal. That's where you'll find the opportunities to solve a huge problem.
3. If there's an event, go! Missing school becomes less and less of a deal as TKS goes on. School happens every day, but meeting legit people at some of the biggest conferences doesn't (and it's way more valuable).
4. People won't remember when you make a mistake, so take risks, get up in front of the session and present, just do it. On the flip side, they'll remember the first impression you make, so always be curious, ask questions, and activate the conversation. Oh, and smile :)
5. Take care of yourself. Read into how you can be more active, eat better, and reduce stress. There's so much evidence of how stress can lead to disease and negative effects on your cells. Your health is so important, so it only makes sense to spend as much time working on yourself as on your focus or your schoolwork.
Hargun
"You never know how something is actually like, unless you try it out for yourself" This goes without saying, do as many explore modules as you can. Start the explore modules early, which will lead to your focus. By implementing both, it will give you a headstart.
Peter
Everyone really does click at different times. Everyone is at a different pace and if you don't see results immediately it doesn't mean it's not worth the while.
Silen
I would say 'stop thinking, and just trust people smarter than you. Many people fall into the trap of thinking, but you don't have all the data points, so you should listen to someone that does (ex. Navid). Do what they say, and if you don't get why he is getting you to do something, then ASK. They are always willing to explain (don't be too intimidated ;).
Zaynah Bhanji
The advice I would give is to first of all just pick a technology/science and start a focus as soon as possible. I would also say to try and make friends as fast as you can, try and form really good relationships with people in TKS because these are the people who you will be working with throughout the year and potentially even for the rest of your life.
Om Gandhi
Don't be scared. Reach out to Navid/Nadeem, make them like you. Reach out to other people and make friends. Don't procrastinate. Don't separate TKS from the rest of your life. TKS is a lifestyle, not just any other program.
Zara
Learn to love yourself. You're probably dope. Figure out why. It will make everything much easier, like networking, and keeping your motivation.
Simran Bansari
To a new tks student, I would advise points that I have regretted to not have taken. Personally, I would advise that using time in a smart way is very important, and school is not the most important thing. If you have the urge to change the world, you gotta do what the majority is not doing, which is managing your time and working on projects outside of school that potentially can improve the world.
Branav
The experiences that you are going to gain from TKS, aren't just cute little things that you've done. The stuff you do in your focus, challenges, and other things in TKS, will give you real world experiences, and if you do it really well it will be acknowledged by some really smart people in the real world, so go hard on your focus and TKS in general from the beginning.
Second thing, is don't neglect the community you have at TKS, high chances are that many of the other people in the room will become founders of huge companies or researchers or something, so if you can develop relationships with these people now, you'll have a network of some of the smartest people in the world, and your network is your net worth.
Teddy
Every single person has the ability to be the most successful version of themselves if they have the willingness to get there.
Cameron Kerr
Get to Know yourself --> There is a lot of advice that will be given to you throughout the year, so get to know what drives you, what makes you happy, who you think you want to be in 10 years
 Start Early --> Some people may think that relationships, or explores, or following the process does not make sense to them, but it is one of the best ways to do things. Don't doubt too much, start meeting people, doing explores, following the process, asking for feedback and advice.
Organize --> There is a lot going on in TKS all the time and it is sometimes hard to perform at your optimal level. Something that really helps is to organize on a platform like google sheets a 30/60/90, a weekly to do list, daily to do list, organize the qualities you want to develop, etc.
Jonah Mickelson
Work hard in the program and utilize the resources.
Jaden Bhogal
1) There is so much you can get out of the program. You will be able to develop networks and gain knowledge you never thought you would be able to get before. To really get the most out of the program, build time each day/couple of days do make progress in your focus and portfolio. This way, you can get so much out of the program and have the framework to develop yourself without it conflicting with your schedule. Unless your extremely busy, you definitely be able to prioritize time for the program.
2) really focus on developing relationships. Try to meet everyone in the program, because each person here is unique and has knowledge and insights that will accelerate you so much farther. Schedule braindates and learn from each other!
Rishab Chakraborty
Follow the process from day one. Listen and actually implement what Navid and Nadeem tell you to do. TKS is not just tech, it's also about a community, and personal development.
Ariba Rajput
Do focus presentations. Get started early. Write articles and master video editing and lighting. Master reading. Most of all, be patient with results but not in effort, and trust in yourself and the process because it WILL pay off, whether it be a month, a year, or even a decade from now. Bill Gates worked for ten years before he hit it off, you can too :)
Aadil
- braindate everyone asap, literally everyone you'll come out of that with so much about tech/ the world/ how people work if you ask the right questions and even if you don't by like the 4th braindate you'll learn how to ask questions and then reap the benefits, no downside because everyone in the community is super knowledgable and helpful and not judgemental at all.
- success in tks correlates with success in real life, nobody even remotely cares about success in school, if you're in school figure out how to do as much tks/ focus work at school as possible, attend as little school as possible while passing or doing online school/ coop (if you're in grade 9 10 or 11)
- everything will work out you're a smart kid, focus on whatever navid and nadeem tell you and build things + be around smart and ambitious people.
- get into and finish a focus asap then read the Paul graham essays, now you'll have technical and worldly/startup knowledge thats cream of the crop in as little as 2-3 months, solid foundation for decision making with those 2 objectives completed.
Kayla
Don’t be rushed into anything, just make sure you are doing what you're passionate about. Put in the work because that’s the only way you will see results. Don’t be afraid of the other students or staff, because everyone here is here for the same reason and is there to help.
Kevin Cui Just because you may not understand the meaning of something, doesn't mean that it isn't meaningful. Take the initiative to try new things and make the most out of the experience.
Cassia
Get into a focus early & don't stress about building something right out of the gate, crank out articles and then start working on projects. Start making friends and being intentionally active about relationships early! Be authentic and energetic, you don't have to pretend to know everything. Trust Navid and Nadeem because what they say will click with new experiences but if you have that developing mindset it will really really make sense one day.
Steph Porfiris
Let go of your ego. You're going to be interacting with some incredibly intelligent people. Don't feel threatened by them because you'll shut down and miss out on amazing experiences. And don't beat yourself up (and give up) because you're not as smart as them. Instead, learn from them. Use this as an opportunity for growth.
Albert
Get to know more people, it's really the most important thing. Keep yourself motivated and be a kind person. Don't stop hustling if things don't go your way. Trust the process and communicate to Navid/Nadeem/Jay; they're really here for you. Everyone at TKS is interesting so get to know them! Isabella Grandic Listen to Navid + Nadeem, talk to people!
Jerry Qu
Find the people you vibe with, and become friends. The people around you will be the next Elon Musks.
Nina
Start now. You're so lucky to be doing this at this age, so make the most of this opportunity. Start learning now.
Devanshi
Dude... start as early as you can because I the end the amount you have achieved with be worth all the hard work. And make sure you are being true to yourself and are doing this for u... stay curious and ambitious and u will be the best u, u never knew you could be!
Adar Kahiri
Build relationships. Talk to as many people as you can, make friends, be active on slack, make sure everyone knows your name and you know everyone's name. This will be absolutely key to your growth.
Laiba Khan
Trust the process, and work super hard at the really beginning to build relationships and complete focuses.Â
Rohan Taneja
Make sure your parents understand the value of what you're doing and are fully supportive before you make significant commitments through TKS. Communication with your parents is critical.
Adara Hagman
Here's a little reflection I did on the above advice to new TKS students and what resonated with me: https://www.notion.so/astronautadara/Advice-for-new-TKS-students-3a6d45af826843c1afbc9b830fb14915