BONUS! Year in Review 2015

Year in Review 2015! Welcome to Startup Life Hacks 2015, year in review! First of all I want to thank each and every one of you for having me in your ears while your driving, cooking, doing the dishes, or whatever you are doing to absorb the content. For subscribing, for sending in the great reviews. I’m doing this for YOU. I apologize for the delayed episode, but there were a lot of events this holiday season that left me out of my studio, aka my room, which involved going to LA to pick up my parents that flew in from Japan, non-stop family gatherings, and also recovering from a stomach bug that’s been going around lately in San Diego. Oh and also falling 13,000 feet in the sky, but more on that later. WHY? This is a special episode not only because it will be my last episode of this calendar year, but this will also be my first episode reflecting on this year’s accomplishments, failures, and lessons learned. Something that I feel like everyone should do even if you don’t have a business. It’s good to reflect and look back at what you’ve accomplished to see where you’ve come from and how far you’ve come since then. Now is the best time ever as we’re entering the New Year, 2016. I’ve seen some podcasters and bloggers do this and I think this was usually their best episode/blog to listen to. Mainly because it really makes it humbling to know that they are going through the same challenges I am facing as I’m running my business and I can learn a lot from their trials and errors, as well as tips on what I can do in the future to further my business. And that’s what I wanted to provide to you, and I hope you walk out of here with a few takeaways before this episode is over. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN In this episode you will know a little bit more about me, in case you haven’t listened to my awful first episode. How I started with podcasting earlier this February to this current episode and everything in between. And a little bonus! What’s in store for Startup Life Hacks for 2016! BACKGROUND So a quick background about me. I am a Master’s of Engineering student in Electrical Engineering at San Diego State University. Go AZTECS!   I was born in the Philippines, but raised here in San Diego, part of the reason why I’ve lost my accent and adopted the California tongue. I grew up very traditional. I was taught the traditional values of going to school and getting good grades to get a safe and secure job with benefits. Stay with the company for 20 years to get a pension to live a “comfortable” life. Sound familiar? I’m not saying that this is a bad route to take, because most people take this route. I’m just saying that I found out later that this was not the route for me. And seeing as though you are listening to this podcast, we are on the same boat. SCHOOL I’ve always felt that I would fuse technology and business together and make a living out of it. I was always good at math at a young age (In fact I was usually first to complete the multiplication table in elementary school whenever we had a contest). And even though I was a shy kid while growing up, I had a good sense of putting things where they need to be visually. Not many people know this, but I was originally a Marketing Major...