What we learned together this week

Recap of the key lessons

Before we dive into all the details, here is a brief summary of today’s newsletter -

✨ Elon Musk became the richest person on the planet. In this podcast, we speak with INSEAD MBA turned Harvard Business School Professor Laura Huang who had a peculiar meeting with him.

🎥 Masterclass Alert: Career Principles of Doctor, Social Entrepreneur and Harvard Kennedy School Graduate Dr. Ruha Shadab

✨ Upcoming Events: Upcoming events include discussions with a Stanford student taking a gap year to build a passion economy product, a GenZ from a non-target school breaking into VC and many more

Let’s dive in

Newsletters

As we have discussed earlier, meritocracy is the idea that the most capable person should get the most coveted job, the most prestigious scholarship and the most treasured grant because that person deserves it. According to some commentators Kylie Jenner is a self-made billionaire and everyone who gets to positions of power, makes it happen through hard work, hustle and strong work ethic.

Law Professor Michael Sandel disagrees. According to him, meritocracy generates hubris and anxiety among the winners and humiliation and resentment among the losers. He suggests that talent/innate potential is nothing but a matter of good luck. One does not merit or deserve the benefits arising from being gifted with certain talents.

Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking. Roughly 75% of the world suffers from this social phobia to some extent. The exact cause of glossophobia is hard to pinpoint but both genetic factors and traumatic experiences of one’s past can play a role. There is, however, a silver lining. Deliberate practice can help overcome glossophobia over a period of time.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.”

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Podcast: What Happens When Elon Musk Asks You to Get Out

You’re finally getting to meet Elon Musk – and he kicks you out. Network Capital mentor and Harvard Business School Professor Laura Huang had this happen to her.

Prof. Huang had been in Elon Musk’s office for less than 30 seconds when Elon said "No, get out of my office" with no explanation. While Prof. Laura and her colleague were being kicked out, she found herself laughing in surprise and dramatically changing the events that followed.

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Masterclass: Career Principles of Doctor, Social Entrepreneur and Harvard Kennedy School Graduate Dr. Ruha Shadab

Dr. Ruha Shadab is a doctor turned public health professional turned social entrepreneur. She is the Founder of LedBy Foundation, a unique leadership incubator that works on improving equity in the workplace.She is a recent graduate from Harvard University, where she received her Master in Public Policy on a full tuition scholarship. On graduation, she was awarded the Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Leadership Award: the first Indian to receive it. During her Master’s, she served as the Co-Chair of the India Conference at Harvard, worked at Yale University as first author for a medical ethics paper, and interned at the Gates Foundation on a global health strategy framework.

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Network Capital Subscribers with Clubhouse Access

Clubhouse is one of the hottest apps with a few thousand subscribers. It is still in the beta phase but it valued at over $100 Million Dollars. Network Capital subscribers get access to Clubhouse. Feel free to join our regular huddles to discuss, connect and form meaningful relationships with bright and curious minds around the world.

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Wharton India Economic Forum Update

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As the community partner of the Wharton India Economic Forum, Network Capital subscribers got 50% off. We are always looking to add unique value to our subscribers and designed a masterclass by the co-chairs of the Forum to understand what a virtual Wharton MBA and a virtual conference looks like.

It was also wonderful to learn that one of our subscribers, Shayak, won the Wharton Startup Challenge.

Building a community needs to dots to connect in charming ways. Nothing gives us more happiness than to add value to our members and see them flourish.

There are many events, discussions and huddles coming up in the coming week. We hope you will join us by subscribing or gifting a subscription to someone who can benefit from the Network Capital experience.

Your Network Capital Team

Additional Information

⚡️If you are new to Network Capital, start by going through our most popular - masterclass (Career Principles with Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller); newsletter(Writing Fast and Slow); and podcast (The art of writing with Dr. Shashi Tharoor)

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