Aidan Nguyen-Tran

Aidan Nguyen-TranAug 5, 2026

"Should I drop out?" Someone asked me this yesterday. I never know how to answer that with a clean yes or no. By the time I left UCSD at 19, school was already getting less of my attention. I was building Hermes from my dorm, and my grades definitely reflected it. Hermes reached 7,000 users in under a month. That showed me I could build something from scratch and get real people to use it. I remember telling my mom I'd take the first real opportunity I got to move to SF. When I got the chance to lead growth at Gallium in SF, the decision felt pretty obvious. I bought the one-way ticket. For most people, school is still a net positive. If it gives you time and structure to build, use it. I wouldn't recommend leaving just because school feels slow or an idea feels exciting. Build it while you're still in school. See if people use it. See if you keep working on it when nobody is grading you. Then look at what's actually pulling you forward. I spent months building before I made the dropout decision. That's the part I would copy.

Aidan Nguyen-TranAug 4, 2026

If I were building outbound on LinkedIn from zero, I'd steal this from the $2M ARR YC playbook: Start with 10 to 100 prospects. Use that list to plan the next 30 days of content. Pick 15-25 accounts that share one trigger and connect with them. Maybe Series A fintech companies that hired a VP Sales in the last 90 days. That gives you the next month of content. Post 4 times a week: - one opinion your buyers already argue about - one story/teardown of how they handle the problem now - one example with proof - one post that humanizes you and your company(these will perform the best) Now every email and DM has context. The prospect may have already seen how you think, watched you break down their problem, or recognized their exact situation in a post. At Gallium, I've seen this across client work that's generated 300M+ impressions, $10M+ in pipeline, 700K+ followers, and 14K+ inbound candidates. From what I've seen, I'd spend 20 minutes after every post logging the right likers and commenters. I wouldn't pitch yet. After someone engages two or three times, I'd send a message tied to the topic they cared about. Then I'd track target-account engagement, profile views, qualified replies, meetings, and pipeline each week. After 16 posts, I'd know which problems pull the right accounts and who keeps showing up. I'd use that to write the next post and the next message.

Aidan Nguyen-TranOct 2, 2026

Arceus just raised $17M to build an AI-native law firm. I've had my eyes on them for a while, and this is why you should too. Growth is a hard job. You're constantly testing channels, chasing leads, and executing and iterating every week. I've watched a contract slip because legal took too long. The buyer was ready. We were the ones waiting. That's the most painful time to lose control of a deal: right after the customer says yes. Billable hours and slow turnaround are how most firms work. Arceus is the other way: - 3-5 hour average contract review - 8-hour turnaround guarantee, or the review is free - Flat fee agreed up front, no billable hours - Every matter approved by a licensed attorney, and 4-6x more affordable than traditional law firms That's what $17M is going to scale. Arceus is worth a look for fast-growing companies that want faster, more predictable legal. Link in the comments.