How To Run Down A Dream

By Founders Podcast

Categories: Startup, VC

Summary

At 26, Sam Hinkie quit his lucrative finance job to pursue his passion for using data analytics to disrupt professional sports. Despite skepticism, he interned for the Houston Texans, building software that showed why mid-round draft picks can be more valuable than first-rounders.

Key Takeaways

1. Verbalize your passion and pursue it relentlessly, even in the face of skepticism.
2. Leverage your unique skills and insights to stand out from the crowd, even as an outsider.
3. Be willing to work for free and go the extra mile to get your foot in the door.
4. Persist through resistance to new approaches, and find creative ways to demonstrate your value.
5. Leverage data and analytical frameworks to uncover hidden value that others overlook.
6. Be willing to go the extra mile, even if it means sacrificing personal time and comfort.

Topics

• Sports Analytics
• Career Pivots
• Unpaid Internships
• Persistence in the Face of Skepticism
• Data-Driven Decision Making

Transcript Excerpt

Sam was born in the Netherlands where his father was working at the time, but he grew up mostly in Marlo, Oklahoma, a town with a population just under 5,000. Sam's dad worked for an oil and gas company. Sam was gifted with intelligence and was his high school's validictorian. From an early age, he loved numbers. He loved math. He was fascinated by the power of exponential growth. At the University of Oklahoma, he majored in finance. He loved sports. He briefly considered becoming a coach, but i...