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Metadata

ID:
2025-04-19-phone-call-keyen-gupta
Participants:

Phone Call with Keyen Gupta: Masterpiece Pivot & Networking Opportunities

Date: April 19, 2025 Participants: Gary Sheng, Keyen Gupta (Phone Call), Jack Oremus (Mentioned/Potentially Present)

Overview​

Following a strong recommendation from Sloan Price, Gary Sheng had a phone call with Keyen Gupta to discuss his interests, aspirations, and potential involvement in the Alpha ecosystem. Gary invited Keyen to a high-profile dinner and proposed a potential pivot for his Masterpiece project, offering significant mentorship and networking support.

Key Discussion Points​

Gary's Role & Alpha Vision​

  • Gary explained his role in scaling Alpha Schools and achieving its ambitious goals.
  • Mentioned the upcoming convergence of influential people in Austin, centered around a dinner at Zach Levi's ranch.

Keyen's Background & Interests​

  • Interested in Business, specifically AI applications within business.
  • Dream school is Northwestern, attracted by their AI/Business minor.
  • Expressed interest in learning to code (taking ML class next year).
  • Acknowledged his reputation (via Sloan) as a "social butterfly."

Masterpiece Project Discussion​

  • Keyen's current idea is a golf app.
  • Gary proposed pivoting towards an app focused on the intersection of golf and networking – leveraging the fact that golf is often used for business connections.
  • Gary highlighted the potential for this app to be used by high-profile individuals (billionaires, investors, mentors).
  • Gary emphasized the value of combining technical skills (coding the app) with Keyen's natural social/networking abilities.
  • Keyen expressed interest in the pivoted idea but wanted time to think it over, feeling supported in either direction.

Mentorship & Connections Offered by Gary​

  • Technical Support: Gary offered 1 hour/day of his time (when at Alpha) to personally help Keyen learn to code and build the app, using tools like Cursor.
  • Expert Connections: Gary offered introductions to:
    • David Kobroski (Shows.ai - leading platform for superconnection technology).
    • Mikey Gendel (strong Northwestern connections via family, sports industry ties).
    • "Black Godmother" (highly connected business manager).
    • Zach Medham (software engineer educator, hackathon organizer).
    • Other high-profile individuals attending the Wednesday dinner.
  • Northwestern Support: Specifically offered connection to Mikey Gendel to aid with Northwestern aspirations.

Wednesday Dinner Invitation​

  • Gary formally invited Keyen to the dinner at Zach Levi's ranch on Wednesday evening.
  • Highlighted the high-caliber guest list (Black Tony Stark/Lael Alexander, Black Godmother, potential political figures, etc.).
  • Mentioned optional pre-dinner activities (dirt bikes, paintball) starting at 5 PM, with dinner at 8 PM.

Follow-up Actions​

  • Keyen to check his schedule for the Wednesday dinner.
  • Keyen to consider the proposed pivot for his Masterpiece project (Golf + Networking App).
  • Keyen and Gary to potentially connect Monday for whiteboarding/planning sessions.
  • Gary to provide Keyen with recordings/notes and introduce him to Cursor for planning.