Mercedes Bent

  • Product Market Fit is not a One-Way Door (FMB Part 11)

    This is an extension of my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series, based on my Stanford Masters of Education research. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10. Last year in June of 2023 I wrote about product market fit not being a one-way door. In…

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  • Creating Defensibility: Monopolizing your Supply Side (Part 10)

    This is an extension of my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series, based on my Stanford Masters of Education research. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Whether we’re talking about developers, gig workers, content creators, trading supply, etc, there are better and…

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  • How Fintechs & Consumer Companies are using Behavioral Psychology to Win

    This story was first posted on Business Insider, check it out here Halfway through my college career I nearly gave up studying economics. I hated how economists acted like we all operate inside an optimal, rational world. “Rational” is not the first word I’d use to describe human behavior. But near the end of my sophomore…

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  • #FMB: How to Choose a Startup Idea

    #FMB: Founders are Made, not Born. my #FMB “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII. Extensions: Parts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Every few days I find myself on calls with exceptional people who are in-between roles and taking time to evaluate new ventures they might start (oh yes, quite…

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  • Founders are Made, Not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals (Part I)

    Part I: Founders need squads This is the “Founders are Made, not Born: How Founders Become Learning Animals” series, based on my Stanford Masters of Education research about founders & learning. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI. Silicon Valley has long exalted a singular classic founder story that supposedly spells success. It goes something like…

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  • The Future of Work(ers)

    Originally posted in Dec 2019  My take on what the future might hold for workers In 2013, I worked with two students’ whose journeys have stuck with me ever since: Mariah* had worked in a call center until it downsized as chatbots emerged. She came to General Assembly seeking a career change as a result.…

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  • Paranoid Optimism

    You can assume that everything that can go wrong, will, and still be an optimist. Trust me, I’m a pro at it. Flash back a few years ago to early 2014. At work, my division was growing like wildfire. Like a thorny weed. Like bunny rabbits. Heck it was growing so fast we couldn’t remember…

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  • How I Make Big Life Decisions

    If you’ve read my blog you understand I love self-help advice. Giving and receiving it. One of my favorite types of self-help advice is around decision making. For years I have used a tool to help make big life decisions and shared it with all my friends. Yesterday my girlfriend and I were on the phone…

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  • The Importance of Documenting Your Vision

    Something I never really thought about until it I heard myself uttering these words at work “Yeah, I thought about that before…..”: if you are leading a team, accountable for direction and implementation, or in any way want to be recognized for a vision you’re working toward, it is non negotiable that you document your…

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  • Framing Goals

    After joining General Assembly, I realized I’d not only entered the tech industry, I’d also entered the education industry. And so far, I’ve learned a TON about the world of teachers and learning. For all the educators out there this post is going to seem really obvious. But for all of you that are like me,…

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