When Pear VC managing partner Mar Hershenson started her electrical engineering PhD at Stanford, she immediately felt way out of her depth. At the time, she had never heard of “imposter syndrome,” but she’s since realized that it significantly impacted her early career. In tennis, she says, you only learn by “playing up,” and competing against stronger players. In any endeavor, she’s found, the way to beat imposter syndrome is to focus on the benefits of “playing up,” and also to over-prepare.
Related
![Photo of Alexandra Zatarain](https://ecorner.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Alexandra-Zatarain-600x600-1.png)
Alexandra Zatarain,
Eight Sleep
Getting to Product-Market Fit [Entire Talk]
Product-market fit is a journey. Knowing your audience and mission will help you on your way.
Video
50 minutes
Alexandra Zatarain,
Eight Sleep
Getting to Product-Market Fit [Entire Talk]
Product-market fit is a journey. Knowing your audience and mission will help you on your way.
![Photo of Maria Barrera](https://ecorner.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Maria-Barrera-600x600-.png)
Maria Barrera,
Clayful
Mental Health Tech, Mentally Healthy Startups [Entire Talk]
Startups can address important mental health problems, but maintaining mental health in startup culture is challenging.
Video
49 minutes
Maria Barrera,
Clayful
Mental Health Tech, Mentally Healthy Startups [Entire Talk]
Startups can address important mental health problems, but maintaining mental health in startup culture is challenging.
![Photo of David Allemann](https://ecorner.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/David-Allemann-600x600-2.png)
David Allemann,
On
Exploration in Sports Technology [Entire Talk]
Taking a risk on an innovative idea can be the spark of a global company.
Video
50 minutes
David Allemann,
On
Exploration in Sports Technology [Entire Talk]
Taking a risk on an innovative idea can be the spark of a global company.