If person has enough determination and an internet connection, they can learn nearly every piece of information that a Stanford student does. The main reason for going to school is because of the people; you have the opportunity to learn from some of the best professors in the world while surrounded by bright and interesting people who are passionate about what they doo. This evening I went to a dinner to give networking a try and work on my schmoozing skills. I ended up having a surprising amount of fun. The event was one of a number of dinners sponsored by the Stanford Entrepreneur Club and held in the living rooms of various graduate students. Each dinner has a focus like sustainable technologies or women in entrepreneurship - the dinner tonight was centered around consumer internet ventures, a topic which I chose purely because it was the only one that fit into my schedule. I ended up with a number of business cards and my number programmed into a few people's iPhones.
My two biggest takeaways from this evening was that there appears to be a need for women in Stanford entrepreneurship -- out of the 13 students, only one other was a woman -- and that I need to hurry up and print a new set of business cards before I do any more dinners like this.