Catherine Chen

Hey everyone, I am struggling with a particular question for a while now and would love to pick your brains. A good while ago, I decided to leave a well-paying corporate job to embark on the journey of starting my own company/ product. I wanted neither a partner nor an outside investment back then. There was a whole array of reasons. One was that I clearly suffered some kind of imposter syndrome and needed to at least realize it (still working on that though). Another reason was that for a while I really wasn't sure about the idea (it's in a rather competitive space). Being a solo-founder does have some real benefits, but over time I also realized that it comes with a lot of downsides. These downsides seem to amplify the more the product gets real dynamic (i.e., real-life feedback). So I have been thinking about partnering with someone for a while now. I considered finding a suitable partner hard, to begin with, but since COVID struck, it seems even harder to connect with like-minded people. So what I really want to ask is: What are your recommendations on finding a partner/ co-founder (with technical skills but also able to design UX, maybe even marketing) during these weird times? Christian

It came from an idea my sister had. She creates handmade greeting cards for people, and wanted to digitize them. However, there were two problems: - Flat ecards, which can be customized on some sites, are boring. - Punchbowl's card animations are cool, but the cards can't really be customized. Cards should be personal, fun to open, and easy to send. Being a web developer, I thought about creating a web app that would allow anyone to upload their designs and convert it into digital greeting cards (with click-and-open animations) to send. (Possible future features include a way for creators to make money from cards, public/private cards, etc.) What do you think? Any ideas, suggestions, or are there any products that already do this? (I couldn't find any.) You can check out the current animation at https://sponge-nifty-judo.glitch.... ;) Yes, the bold colors on the card look awful, but they're just waiting to be filled with creative designs...

I've been wondering recently how many of you went through college and either graduated or dropped out. What caused you to make your decision, and would you make a different one the second time around? What did you wish college could have helped you out with? Have you ever wanted to do a sort of "personal college" thing, where you set up your own path, degrees, and goals? I'm thinking of doing something in this area, so...