{"675519":{"#nid":"675519","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Entrepreneur\u2019s Gambit: A CREATE-X Alumnus Makes His Own Luck","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESamuel \u201cSam\u201d Porta, Startup Launch alumnus and founder of Queues, recently placed 10th in a World Series of Poker event, cashing out over $14,800 from a field of 2,500 participants. A multi-CREATE-X alumnus, Porta has participated in Startup Launch twice, as well as taking both Startup Ideas and Idea-to-Prototype. Porta\u2019s company creates a product that uses computer vision to collect live wait times. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 2021 with a B.S. in computer science. The company received over $1 million in seed funding. Below is a Q\u0026amp;A with Porta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s something people don\u2019t realize about poker?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe cool thing about poker is it\u2019s statistics. If it was a game of luck, you could not have people who consistently win and do well. When you study and you learn the edges, you play differently, and you play in ways that give you a mathematical edge over your opponents. What a lot of people don\u0027t realize is luck only plays a factor when you\u0027re looking at any given hand.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat was your strategy while playing competitively during this poker competition?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s that funny thing at a table; everything conveys information. For me, I always wear a face mask when I play because I\u0027m a very expressive person. As a founder, it\u0027s a great trait, but when you\u0027re playing poker, it\u0027s not ideal. You don\u0027t want to be giving away a lot of information. I\u0027d say it is a very social game, but it is player-dependent. If you\u0027re not paying attention, you miss information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe first hand I played at that tournament, I knocked out a player based on information I gleaned from the table talk they were having beforehand. I was able to put him in a spot that was not theoretically correct but is what we call an exploitative deviation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow have you seen the risk of entrepreneurship play out for you and your peers?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI\u0027d say it\u0027s just been really lovely seeing the growth. A lot of people who I knew, they\u0027re no longer in entrepreneurship. They tried it out and it wasn\u0027t for them, but that was the beauty of it too. It\u0027s the perfect time to experiment with that and better to know early. I\u0027ve seen entrepreneurs who went into industry and then go right back at it, and others would go off and join other startups and that, for them, was the way.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe darkest time for me from an entrepreneurship point was in 2020. We\u2019d just won the InVenture Prize. I\u2019d been trying for three years to win. Then the day after, there\u0027s a Georgia Tech-wide press release. People test positive for Covid-19 at the InVenture Prize; get tested. The next week, all of Georgia\u0027s in lockdown. What could have been a really big moment for us suddenly was overshadowed by a once-in-a-century pandemic. It was just one of those brutal moments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELife is meant to give you curveballs. Adversity is part of the journey. Is there anything else that I would rather be doing with my life?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the benefits of Covid was suddenly we had all these amazing Georgia Tech students whose internships were canceled. We had 17 full-time interns working at Queues within the next month, and we outputted more over that summer in lockdown than we ever did before.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven if, for whatever reason, your startup fails, there\u0027s so much you\u0027ve learned that you wouldn\u0027t have otherwise learned. There are so many entrepreneurs whose first three startups failed, but their fourth ones have taken off and they\u0027re doing fantastic. And that fourth one never would have succeeded if it wasn\u0027t for the first three.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you think CREATE-X has prepared you for high-stakes situations?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen I came to Georgia Tech, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I also had the humility to know I don\u0027t know what that means, and there\u0027s more that I don\u0027t know than I do know.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo, for me, the CREATE-X experience was all about learning skills and methodologies that have been tried and tested. It\u0027s understanding things that past successful founders have done. They did all the successful things, but underneath the hood it was all these tiny iterations, tweaks, improvements, and small gains. It takes 1,000 steps to climb the hill. The last one is not the most important; it\u0027s just the most symbolic because you finally get there.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat resources would you suggest to those who are interested in entrepreneurship?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/galileo-gatech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?context=L\u0026amp;context=L\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT:GT\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT\u0026amp;docid=cdi_proquest_ebookcentralchapters_6808093_4_4\u0026amp;tab=default_tab\u0026amp;lang=en\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGood to Great\u003C\/em\u003E by Jim Collins\u003C\/a\u003E. The biggest thing from that book is the concept of leadership. Everyone has a place on the bus. Your job as founder is to make sure they\u2019re sitting in the right seat. We hire people we think are great fits and once they\u2019re there, we find where they belong.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/galileo-gatech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?docid=alma9914534760202947\u0026amp;context=L\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT:GT\u0026amp;lang=en\u0026amp;search_scope=MyInst_and_CI\u0026amp;adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine\u0026amp;isFrbr=true\u0026amp;query=any,contains,9914534760202947\u0026amp;sortby=date_d\u0026amp;facet=frbrgroupid,include,9047174863047390298\u0026amp;offset=0\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENever Split the Difference\u003C\/em\u003E by Chris Voss\u003C\/a\u003E. I love it because it\u0027s all taught through anecdotes. He\u0027s taking you through real-life examples of him and the FBI. It\u0027s modern negotiation theory that\u0027s been practically tested.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/galileo-gatech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com\/discovery\/fulldisplay?context=L\u0026amp;context=L\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT:GT\u0026amp;vid=01GALI_GIT\u0026amp;docid=alma9914978881702947\u0026amp;tab=default_tab\u0026amp;lang=en\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELeaders Eat Last:\u0026nbsp;Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don\u0027t\u003C\/em\u003E by Simon Sinek.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIf you\u0027re a founder or a CEO, your job above all else is to be a leader. Unfortunately, there\u0027s not much good leadership training. It\u0027s your job to create a culture where your people can succeed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s next?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe\u0027re looking to deploy in the venue space. We\u0027re in talks with the Atlanta Braves right now. We\u0027ve also just launched a new product for Queues for parking. Our goal is to try and modernize and improve these spaces with this AI tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs we celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurs like Sam Porta, we invite you to join us for to see the next batch of founders building products to solve real-world issues. Don\u2019t miss out on \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/gt-demo-day-tickets-888408793617?aff=article\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDemo Day\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Cstrong\u003EAugust 29\u003C\/strong\u003E, from \u003Cstrong\u003E5-7 p.m.\u003C\/strong\u003E at the \u003Cstrong\u003EExhibition Hall\u003C\/strong\u003E. It\u2019s a chance to meet these problem solvers, explore their ideas, and perhaps even find the spark for your own entrepreneurial journey. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/gt-demo-day-tickets-888408793617?aff=article\u0022\u003ERegister today\u003C\/a\u003E! Tickets are free but limited. We look forward to seeing you there!\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESamuel \u201cSam\u201d Porta, Startup Launch alumnus and founder of Queues, recently placed 10th in a World Series of Poker event, leveraging his understanding of poker as a game of statistics rather than luck. In this article, discusses his poker strategies and the impact of COVID-19 on his startup.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Samuel \u201cSam\u201d Porta, Startup Launch alumnus and founder of Queues, recently placed 10th in a World Series of Poker event. "}],"uid":"36436","created_gmt":"2024-07-18 20:49:32","changed_gmt":"2024-07-18 20:56:43","author":"bdurham31","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-07-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674380":{"id":"674380","type":"image","title":"Sam Porta","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESamuel \u201cSam\u201d Porta, Startup Launch alumnus and founder of Queues\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1721335867","gmt_created":"2024-07-18 20:51:07","changed":"1721336152","gmt_changed":"2024-07-18 20:55:52","alt":"Samuel \u201cSam\u201d Porta, Startup Launch alumnus and founder of Queues at World Poker tournament ","file":{"fid":"257883","name":"WSOP Event #14 Sam Porta.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/07\/18\/WSOP%20Event%20%2314%20Sam%20Porta.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/07\/18\/WSOP%20Event%20%2314%20Sam%20Porta.png","mime":"image\/png","size":739257,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/07\/18\/WSOP%20Event%20%2314%20Sam%20Porta.png?itok=l6r7ZPgS"}}},"media_ids":["674380"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/gt-demo-day-tickets-888408793617?aff=article","title":"Demo Day Registration"}],"groups":[{"id":"655285","name":"GT Commercialization"},{"id":"583966","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"42901","name":"Community"}],"keywords":[{"id":"166973","name":"startup"},{"id":"137161","name":"CREATE-X"},{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"2161","name":"founders"},{"id":"1072","name":"Business"},{"id":"166971","name":"startup launch"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193658","name":"Commercialization"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBreanna Durham\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarketing Strategist\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["breanna.durham@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}