Re: Life / Chilling in Chicago
My life condensed into variably interesting posts on the internet
Dear Re: Life,
Last time I wrote to you, I was typing away from my dorm room in Palo Alto. Life in summer was slower than usual, interspersed with the excitement of some research and the occasional bout of shenanigans.
Now, I’m sitting at a dining table in downtown Chicago, trying to pen my thoughts after what might have been the most interesting week this year, ranging from wholesome conversations and midnight campfires to frantic Ubers and freak lightning storms. Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
But let’s rewind for a bit.
If you’re new here, you’ll quickly realize that I love shouting out my mentors.
Chris Deutsch, in particular, is a mentor I’ve known and learned from since high school. He’s practically seen me grow up. And while he won’t say it himself, Chris currently runs Lofty Ventures in Chicago and was kind enough to offer me a spot in his community as a Lofty Fellow.
As a fellow, Chris invited me to Chicago this week, where I (among other things) crashed on his sofa, had lunch with some incredible founders, and toured Chicago-based startups like Tempus AI.
And if that wasn’t enough, Chris and the team gave me the chance to attend Lofty Camp, which is a recent but now annual tradition where Lofty founders and friends meet up in South Haven, Michigan, build meaningful relationships, and go glamping (which I was completely oblivious of until a few weeks ago).
To say this experience was great would be an injustice. It was refreshing. It was educational. It was inspiring. One after another, the people I met here weren’t just smart (although they were definitely smart). They were genuinely optimistic and curious about the people and world around them.
The past few days taught me a lot. What will probably stick with me most is the power of serendipity. I’d known for a while that cool things can happen when you squeeze lots of great people into a room. Lofty Camp helped me appreciate this for myself in an intensely visceral way.
No one in our group went into this experience looking for something, but I could see opportunities being created everywhere. Ideas were clicking. People were finding customers. Friends were being made. It felt like I was submerged in a primordial soup, where something was being created from nothing, where millions of chemical reactions were fizzing in and out of existence all around me.
The conversations I had with people taught me just as much, if not more.
Among other things, I learned about the dynamics of crime and gun violence in Chicago from Dr. Roseanne Ander, the director of UChicago’s Crime Lab. I learned about the latest advances in synchrotron imaging from Dr. Dennis Trujillo, the founder of Mercurial AI. I learned about life in Kenya and Zimbabwe from Ethan Zohn, three-time winner of Survivor.
Speaking with these remarkable people gave me so many new lenses to look at the world, even if their work didn’t align exactly with mine. I believe that ideas simply can’t go to waste - all of these perspective will remain in me and prove important later on in ways that can’t be predicted.
All of this was also a massive lesson in gratitude. For the entirety of this trip, I couldn’t bring myself to understand why I was here. Why did I have the chance to meet all these interesting people and enjoy so many fascinating conversations? Why did I get to sit around such a gorgeous campfire and see the entire night sky illuminated by stars? Why me?
Genuinely, I have no clue, but I think that’s the point. To some extent, I think the definition of gratitude is to be thankful for all the magic around you, despite having done nothing to deserve it. This isn’t just a camp or conference thing - it’s a life thing.
With that, it’s only fair thank the people that made this event special.
Thank you Chris, for taking a chance on me, and to your family, for hosting me so generously this week.
Thank you to Christian, Lisa, Ronnie, ad for handling so much of the logistics and making this camp possible. Thank you to Keith Fix, Jon Ozeran, and Jessica Irons, for agreeing to chat with me before the event even started. Thank you to all the founders I met and learned from - Dennis, Jamie, Joel, Ciara, Tom, Stacie, Drew, Nana, Brian, Osa, Ethan, Louisa, Serge, Nico - and the many more that made it to Lofty Camp. Thank you to Garrett for being a rockstar tentmate. And of course, thank you to Rehman and Safina (I’m looking at you) for driving us all the way to camp!
That’s all, at least for now. Till then, enjoy your summer - especially the people you spend it with.
Best,
-Aaryan
P.S. As part of Lofty Ventures, I’ve found myself learning more about the world of startups and angel investing. If you want to learn more, too, check out Lofty’s website.