Grace Lu ☁️

Starting today, I take on the #tweet100 challenge💪 I'll share at least one quality tweet each day of my key learnings while building @myfavoriterun, a community of everyday runners seeking mental clarity & self love🧠 Where are my fellow community builders at? Come say hi!👋

@jessicatshen looks super cool! where's the sign up :)

This time, two years ago, I was sitting in a college apartment, with a full-time corporate job lined up in NYC, uninspired about my future. Today, I run a community for some of the most ambitious young Asian founders and creators across NYC and SF while heading operations at a fast growing seed-stage startup. I started off just writing a weekly newsletter, really out of frustration towards the college education system, a system designed to set people up for financial stability, but not so much for taking risks and pursuing your passions. So I started interviewing people who had done just that right out of college. Through my newsletter, I befriended some incredible founders and ended up living in a hacker house in SF over my summer. That's where I learned about the importance of community, especially navigating a journey as lonely as being a founder, and at such a young age. It was also the first time I had a community of people who shared the same values as me, and I got the urge to provide the same for others. When I moved to New York a few months later, @_JonWang hit me up to host an event together for New York Tech Week. So, only three days after moving to New York, while still sleeping on a mattress on the floor, we put together an event with over 500 sign-ups despite only having enough space for a fraction of that. Towards the end, several people approached me to express they never felt so at home at a tech event - where everyone shared the same type of upbringing, same stage in life, same challenges, same goals - where everyone just felt understood. That was the proof I needed to scale this up into something bigger. It’s insane to see how far this thing has come - I’ve hosted 20+ events, raised 5 figures in sponsorships, brought together hundreds of full-time founders and creators, and left my job in management consulting to work at @joinbloomapp, a consumer fintech startup whose founders I met along the journey. I’m thrilled to announce that we’re hosting our biggest event yet, @asian_founders second annual Lunar New Year Gala in just two weeks from now. Huge thanks to my team Jon @jayyzhu @timmytan18 @shihuaw for helping put this together, and the generous sponsorship of @jpmorgan @tryramp, Yuzu, Impact Food, and @pokeworksco. If you know any young AAPI founders or creators who might enjoy attending, please tag them in this post!

@foliofed congrats, this is huge!! keep up the great work :)

It took 3 years, but this month marks the first time my side project income surpasses the day job To celebrate, here are 3 of my most popular tactical guides for indie makers #1) How to run an early supporter LTD to validate and fund your startup with customers, not investors

@thenikolapetrov i've been in a rut and trying to get back on track the past week as well..these are great points! curious what format you use while journaling your thoughts that help you feel better? :)

I felt like shit the past few days Whenever I feel like that I know it's time to go back to the basics • Take action • Cut out junk food • Hit a heavy workout • Journal your thoughts Getting back on track will make you feel better.

@AidanLaBreche love this! focusing on rest and self-care are so important and underrated :)

You don't have to 'grind' every day. Sunday I recovered: - engaged - did cardio - went to church - spent time with family - planned the week ahead - reflected on the week passed Am I the only one excited for Monday?

still trying to find the right balance between self-discipline and self-compassion... how do you treat yourself on the days you fall short of your potential without causing self-loathing?

@audrlo Love this! super inspirational, thanks for sharing 🤩

This year changed my life. • I built a $10K/mo online business • I made amazing friends • I performed at the Royal Albert Hall But it wasn't an easy journey. Here are 7 incredible lessons I’m taking into 2024: 1/ Surround yourself with winners Most of my personal, career, and business growth this year came from friends. It comes down to: • Building genuine connections • Asking thoughtful questions • Sharing big ideas Don’t hold back. The best mentors are your peers. 2/ Create your own luck I got an offer to play at the Royal Albert Hall because I put myself out there. If you don’t know, it’s the #1 concert hall in the world. I took a risk, recorded my best song, and applied. 3 weeks later, an invite arrived in my mailbox. You “get lucky” when you constantly seek new opportunities. Jump before you’re ready. 3/ Be impatient with action Before X, I was a chronic procrastinator. I thought about starting a business for 3 years. This year, I finally took the plunge. Throw the plan out the window. Just get started. Move as fast as possible. 4/ Kind people always win No explanation required. Help people without asking for anything in return. 5/ Never complain about anything Complaining is a net negative action. If it’s out of your control: don’t waste any time thinking about it. If it’s in your control: shut up and start building solutions. Life got 10x better when I stopped worrying about things that I couldn’t fix. 6/ Progress happen faster than you think In July, I was at $0. 5 months later, I hit $10K/mo. Growth is exponential. You get caught in the day-to-day and then don’t realize how far you’ve come. When you doubt yourself - zoom out. 7/ Use your unfair advantages Don’t try to climb a tree if you’re a fish. I know I’m a pretty good writer. So I used writing to build a business. Optimize for your success. Double down on your strengths. Turn them into superpowers. ––––––––––––––––––––– Thanks for being here on this crazy journey. If there's one thing you can learn from this: Take more bets on yourself. 2024 is waiting for you. Get out there and build something great. ––––––––––––––––––––– Want more? 1. Follow @audrlo 2. Leave a comment See you in 2024, Audrey

2024 is the year i want to close the gap between my current and ideal self ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ who's with me?👋

@avnibarman_ 🙋🏻‍♀️

Every day before I get out of bed, I cold message two new people that I admire. It never takes me more than 5 minutes. I've been doing this every morning for years, and it has gotten me: - 4 internships - my first full time PM job - my first investor in my business - a self-made female billionaire to fly me out to her office for a private meeting - 3 new best friends - an invitation to an exclusive founder retreat sponsored by Nike - and my first five-figure brand deal! Curious to see what a cold message like this looks like? DM me and I’ll send it to you!

@canva URGENT: I'm trying to get a special book delivered before Christmas🎄 There were errors in my first order so I decided to place a new one just now. Please help me cancel and refund my first one - thank you! 🙏✨

The most powerful content creators think like both an artist and a scientist.

As a creator, building strong relationships is a key ingredient to success: - Reply to followers' comments, DMs, and questions - Solicit feedback to understand their challenges & desires - Encourage personal stories Take a genuine interest in people's lives. Everyone benefits.

@rosiesherry @Mathilde_Leo @DavidSpinks @jayclouse @lolitataub @tomrossmedia @Max_Pete @tiffeoda @HelloKrystalWu @MillyTamati @AnthonyCastrio @arvidkahl

Describe what community means to you in 5 words or less👇

@burbteam yes! this represents how much actual value you are bringing to members. a strong brand and community has a significant impact on members' lives and cannot be easily replaced. if your members would really miss you when you're gone, you know you have built a strong community.

@gracelu_creator I'd love to know more of your thoughts about how much they would care if you disappeared 🤔

3 measures of community strength: • how often members talk to each other • how engaged they are with your content • how much they would care if you disappeared

@luchancock good point! agree that just looking at engagement is a vanity metric, but diving deeper and analyzing the nitty gritty details (e.g which posts are performing the best and why) can def help you better serve your community.

@gracelu_creator Careful on point #2. Measuring engagement doesn’t tell you if your community is happy, healthy, or accomplishing any of the things you were hoping it would. It doesn’t tell you if your community is upset or toxic. All engagement tells you is how much of it they're doing.

Anything else you would add to this list? @thedankoe @thejustinwelsh @JoePulizzi @amandanat @AprilynneAlter @IAmAndrewKirby @george__mack

☁️Qualities of good content: 1. Captures your attention immediately 2. Provides value via education or inspiration 3. Entices you to stay and consume more

anyone else fall into the trap of constantly doing things? being busy being busy ≠ productivity true productivity is the art of getting things done in the most efficient manner - working smarter, not harder.

If you aren't growing online, it's either because: 1. You don't understand your audience's desires and pain points. 2. You don't understand how to package your content in a way that aligns with the platform's algorithm. Develop empathy for all parties. That's how you win.