Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him)

Interim MD @CITRISFoundry UC Berkeley | Ex-Israeli | Proud San Franciscan | Gay, thoupled, nerd, cook, traveler & gamer | Equity=4x VCTAM | Deep-tech innovator

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

Honored to receive this recognition alongside the LGBTQ+ founder community. Together, we’re driving a more inclusive tech future. Let’s keep pushing boundaries and building a space where everyone can thrive.

#LGBTQAdvocate #InclusiveTech #StartOut

[StartOut @StartOut]

✨The #StartOut Award for Excellence and Impact honors volunteers who significantly impact our community! Meet recipient, @RonZakay, a beloved StartOut mentor and expert supporting our founders with business strategy, fundraising, pitching, product development, and more.

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@StartOut Honored to receive this recognition alongside the LGBTQ+ founder community. Together, we’re driving a more inclusive tech future. Let’s keep pushing boundaries and building a space where everyone can thrive.

#LGBTQAdvocate #InclusiveTech #StartOut

[George Mack @george__mack]

How to spot high agency people:

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@StartOut Congratulations @StartOut!

Your unwavering support for diverse founders and commitment to positive change is inspiring

My admiration for your incredible impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and dedication to being the change we need to see deepens my love for you

#StartOut

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@StartOut Congratulations @StartOut!

Your unwavering support for diverse founders and commitment to positive change is inspiring

My admiration for your incredible impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and dedication to being the change we need to see deepens my love for you

#StartOut

[Kurzgesagt @Kurz_Gesagt]

Studies have compared the death rates from things like pollution and accidents for different energy sources per 1 TWh. To produce that much energy, coal causes 25 deaths, renewable energy just one every few decades, and nuclear energy would cause only one death every 14 years.

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@DarrelFrater Here here!

"Coopetition" is still one of my favorite "startup"y terms

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@DarrelFrater Well... ;-)

[CrimsonChains ♡Kumoricon K6♡ @CrimChain]

Princess Mononoke is my favorite Ghibli movie ^^

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

Check out my latest article: AI Evolution: Navigating and Thriving in Tech's New Frontier
https://t.co/rzj3Zpbmq0 via @LinkedIn

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@thechangj @saraledterman

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

Holy F… #hyped

[ONE PIECE @OnePieceAnime]

#BREAKING: The One Piece Remake Anime Announced from WIT STUDIO

✨ MORE: https://t.co/KsUI7XR0MQ

[Stefan Wirth @NafetsWirth]

PSA: Microsoft has a startup program that gets you:

- $2500 in OpenAI credits
- Up to 150k in Azure credits (that you can also use on Azure OpenAI)

Time to save some monery 😏

[Kurzgesagt @Kurz_Gesagt]

Our latest video has been 4.5 billion years in the making and is an hour long - it’s the history of Earth!
Every second shows about a million years of the planet’s evolution. Hop on a musical train ride and experience how long a billion years really is: https://t.co/EltPRIjgGO

[Zain Kahn @heykahn]

AI has transformed job hunting forever.

Use this Cheat Sheet to find your next dream role.

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@scottdwitt @gdibner @jefielding With LPs new legal arsenal around DD I see the former status-quo changing to look more and more like the latter

Also, I am here for it...

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@scottdwitt @gdibner @jefielding I feel that is true to a very specific demographic with a very specific profile.

For most of the rest it will always be:

Problem, demonstrably, costs money
Solution, demonstrably, makes money
We are, demonstrably, best/uniquely/ideally suited build solution

[Ron Zakay 🏳️‍🌈 (he/him) @ronzakay]

@jefielding When our avg nears median, we'll level up, better

And, of course it will, as in any other disruption, or leapfrog in tech's zeitgeist/productivity

Blue-ocean > whale-hunting > first-movers > parroting > mainstream > new (better) normal

eg. print, cars, radio, www, smartphones

[So u wanna dance @exponentlabsllc]

Nobody ever talks about Founder-Founder Fit.
- @ronzakay

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

A monthly ritual that changed my life.

The Think Day

(bookmark this and try it later)

In the 1980s, Bill Gates began an annual tradition he called the Think Week.

Gates would seclude himself in a remote location, shut off communication, and spend a week dedicated to reading and thinking.

The radical approach became essential to his process:

"Think Week is a time when I can be creative and push my own thinking. It's a time to step outside the day-to-day demands of my job and really focus on the big picture." - Bill Gates

I first read about the Think Week a few years ago and knew I wanted to give it a shot.

I didn't have an entire week to dedicate to it (early career demands, family priorities, etc.), but figured I could adapt something with a similar core vision.

The Think Day was my creation:

Pick one day each month to step back from all of your day-to-day professional demands:

• Seclude yourself (mentally or physically).
• Shut off all of your devices.
• Put up an out-of-office response.

The goal: Spend the entire day reading, learning, journaling, and THINKING.

By doing this, you create the free time to zoom out, open your mind, and think creatively about the bigger picture.

My essential tools for Think Day:

• Journal and pen.
• Books/articles I've been wanting to read.
• Secluded location (at home, rental, or outside).
• Thinking prompts to spark my mind.

Six thinking prompts I've found particularly useful:

1. Are you hunting antelope (big important problems) or field mice (small urgent problems)?

2. How can you do less, but better?

3. What are your strongest beliefs? What would it take for you to change your mind on them?

4. What are a few things that you know now that you wish you knew 5 years ago?

5. What actions were you engaged in 5 years ago that you cringe at today? What actions are you engaged in today that you will cringe at in 5 years?

6. What would your 80-year-old self say about your decisions today?

I aim for an 8-hour window split into 60-minute focus blocks with walks in between.

You have to slow down to speed up.

In a speed-obsessed world, the benefits of slowing down are extensive:

• Restore energy
• Notice things you missed
• Be more deliberate with actions
• Focus on the highest leverage opportunities
• Move slow to move fast.

The Think Day can help. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

***

If you enjoyed this or learned something, share this with others and follow me @SahilBloom for more in future!