When I first sat down for dinner, all I knew about Michael Belkin was that he worked in Silicon Valley and was an activist for the LGBTQ community. Although I did not feel compelled to begin a start-up, I thought that as a computer science major and an ally, I thought I was obligated to attend this dinner talk.

From this dinner talk, what struck me the most was how business plans change overtime. At first, his app was targeted towards people in their early 20’s but after a course of events with Huffington Post publicizing the app as the first LGBTQ app 12 year old people can use. As a result, soon after, 12-17 year old people began to use the app. Thus, in an unplanned series of events, the app became targeted towards people in their mid-teens.

Another thing I took away from the dinner talk was the insight into dating in the LGBTQ community. As an ally, I enjoy learning and hearing about the experiences of other people (especially those that are much different than mine). Thus, when I heard about the difficult situations that teens posted about, I reflected on my own life. I never had to think about “coming out” to others or worry that someone I like would not interested in my people of my gender. I am glad that Michael Belkin made this app so that teens could gain support from others online.

Although at the end of the talk, I knew I still did not want to begin a start-up company, but overall, I did appreciate the dinner talk.