Draper University Hero Training Alumni Q&A: Kevin Longa
Kevin Longa is a food documentary filmmaker and a Fall 2013 Draper University Hero Training graduate, currently working on his own food documentary startup TASTE with Kevin Longa (TASTE, for short).
Draper University: How did you hear about Draper University?
Kevin: I was at Stanford VentureLab, right after I graduated from UCLA where I studied Film and Business & Economics. I was on Stanford campus, and one of the organizers, a guy on the board of VLAB said to me: “You’ve got this idea about food documentaries… have you heard about this program called Draper University? They’re looking for people around your age who are also entrepreneurial.” He encouraged me to apply, and since I had started a business fraternity at UCLA, and was interested in entrepreneurship, I decided to apply.
Draper University: What were your goals coming into Hero Training?
Kevin: I wanted to learn how to think differently. I was part of the traditional educational system since I was young. Getting all A’s, being valedictorian at my high school and going to a top school for filmmaking. I wanted to do everything perfectly, and pursue what people told me was the path to success. When I graduated in 2012, it was the economic crisis, so no one was hiring. I was applying to marketing jobs and sales jobs instead of the film/entertainment industry. I had previously co-founded the Film and Photography Society at UCLA, and my co-founder at FPS gave me call and told me that we had gotten invited to the ASEAN International Film Festival. I told him that I was looking for a job at the time. He asked me: “What do you really want to do for a job?” Ever since I was young, I had been making food documentaries, and I realized that that was what I wanted to really do. So after a week, I told him that I would come along as long as I was able to bring his camera and could spend my time filming food and the people who made the food. And that’s what I ended up doing. That led me to having the startup idea that eventually led me to Draper University.
Draper University: What was one thing that you learned at Draper University?
Kevin: I learned that done is better than perfect. Before I arrived, I was a perfectionist. I still am to a certain degree, but less so.
Draper University: What advice would you give to students who are part of the Fall 2017 class?
Kevin: Make sure to participate in the non-scheduled activities. Get to know your fellow students. For example, at the end of the day, the beanbags are still here in the Egg Room and you might as well take advantage of that and chat with someone you’ve never talked with that’s part of the program.
Draper University: How has the Draper University network helped with your current career and business?
Kevin: I consistently followed up with a lot of the Draper University speakers via email and asked them for advice. I updated them on my startup after I had taken their advice, and some of them ended up investing in my startup. For example, Gina Kloes, Massimo Redaelli, former Creative Director at Google and Paul Polizzotto from CBS EcoMedia were all Draper University speakers who became backers of my startup.
Draper University: How can any readers of this blog post be useful to you at this current moment?
Kevin: I’m looking for more creative professionals — especially documentary film editors — to join my team that are highly experienced. If they’re interested, they should send an email to hello@tastewithkevin.com. I’d also love to talk to potential investors as well as meet with any professionals in the film/TV industries.
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Draper University is currently accepting applications for its Fall 2017 Hero Training program. Schedule a time to chat for 10-minutes with Min Kim at min@draperuniversity.com.
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Draper University was founded by venture capitalist Tim Draper with the mission to inspire people and accelerate ideas by igniting the entrepreneurial spirit globally. Come join 900+ alumni who have launched their own startups, raised $220+M in venture funding and who work with leading technology companies to foster innovation. Live and learn in Silicon Valley during the 5 week fully immersive program and go from human to hero.
