I grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley, so the path was kind of set: go into tech, become an engineer, climb the ladder. But that was never fully me. I actually applied to college with an art portfolio: I had wanted to run my own gallery. Still do, honestly.
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I studied computer science at Purdue. First day of class, I walked into a room of 400 students, maybe 20 of us were women. That hit hard. I realized how important it was not just to be in these spaces, but to help create them. So I got involved in everything: Girls Who Code, the CS Women’s Network, Startup Launchpad, you name it.
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After graduating, I was in the 9-5 grind. I got the job, the car, the apartment. On paper, it was perfect. But I didn’t feel challenged. I wanted to build. I started organizing events, saying yes to things that scared me: joining a run club solo, serving as COO of Women Founders Bay, speaking at TechCrunch, hosting a Gen AI Conference, collabing with Nike, running a marathon, training Muay Thai, hosted a Gen AI Conference (GITPRO), helping run a cold plunge community (
@plunge.party ). Somehow that led to getting DM’d by the CEO of Vently to head growth. We moved into a house together: six guys, me, and a startup. No work-life boundaries, just pure build mode.
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A year later, I’m now Co-Founder of Vently (
@ventlylabs ), powering Gen Z communities and event hosts across the West Coast. We’ve thrown everything from 2000-person Giga Parties and Creator Conferences to Stranger Dinners and collabs with the Golden State Warriors. I build community because that’s what I know. I love bringing people together: founders, creatives, athletes, or anyone just craving real human connection.
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The past year’s been chaotic. I was working two jobs, running events with a dislocated knee, barely sleeping. But I’ve learned I need to fill my own cup too. Now I ground myself in wellness and Muay Thai. I’m still learning, still growing.
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If there’s one truth I know: the mind creates boundaries that don’t exist. Don’t let them cage you. Trust the leap. You’re far more powerful than you realize.
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Gargi Kand (
@ikandeven )
