So you either came here through my LinkedIn (which if you did, know that you're a legend) or you found this organically (how deep have you dug through the internet bro?)
This post is to describe what my goals are and how North Star fits in.
#1: Pay it forward
Before I even knew what North Star is, I used to be a kid hopping around free events around Charleroi (I still am) and just listen to people who had way more experience than me. I never really understood why some would praise me for being courageous (not that I don’t appreciate it), if anything, the host (or the one funding) was being courageous for hosting a free event with catering (which i abused, of course). But then I understood that this was uncommon for a person my age, hence the shock. I genuinely learned a lot from these people and I even connected with them (some I still keep in touch with from time to time) and I find it so pitiful that others my age don't take advantage of this, at least come for the free food!
I encountered North Star when they organised the Vibe Coding Kids Hackathon all over the country, including Charleroi at E6k. Their marketing was so terrible (sorry, had to be said :p It is better now though;) that I only came to know about it during a late night LinkedIn scroll (this multiverse was probably the only one that had me scrolling on LinkedIn at 10pm), just a day before the hackathon. I quickly signed my little brother up and remember being so pissed that I couldn’t sign up (it was age-limited). Fast forward to the day of the hackathon, I remember counting not more than 10 kids. 10. And that may be an overestimation. In our incredible age of AI, I thought there would at least be 20 knocking on the door, especially on a great opportunity like this. At the end of all of it, I met 2 incredible volunteers (Arthur and Giovanni) who I vibed with. Arthur was the one who led me to Tectonic, and what a blast that turned out to be ;)
Anyway, I want to bring this world to the attention of the youth, build the bridge between the ones actively looking and the Belgian tech ecosystem.
I want to bring valuable experience to the ambitious while still keeping it damn fun.
In a country where education funding is being cut like it's an expense, I want to offer something school never could.
This is North Star, and I want to be part of it.
#2: The experience
What’s the difference between having a student job and being part of the core team of North Star
A student job pays, and it pays well for the job you do. Meanwhile at North Star, I'm doing this out of my pocket.
I don’t want to make it seem that I’m sacrificing something major, no. I signed up for this. And I am very thankful for the benefits this role comes with (including but not limited to free ChatGPT and Claude, in this economy?)
Of course, there’s a second difference between those two: a student job gives you little to no experience (assuming a job in the catering sector, which is the most popular one and the most boring). Meanwhile a position at North Star gives you a hell of an experience. Not only in the professional sense but also in the social one. And, based on where I currently am at this point in my life, I consider that to be way more valuable than an income. (Not to say that this stops me from generating one, I adapt ;)
But what kind of experience am I looking for? Thanks for not asking, I’ll answer it anyway.
Mainly, I’m looking to learn more of the technical side of AI and robotics (two of the most prominent fields in deep tech). North Star is the right circle for that. But also the logistical side of things: how you build and scale a community, run events, attract partners, keep the money flowing, outreach, … all while trying to survive. A non-profit where you have ownership and freedom to try stupid shit is the best thing you can ask for if you are looking to gain this kind of experience.
#3: The people
Did I mention who has been keeping this thing alive, pushing this forward for nearly two years? Yes, it has been the core team who were and are behind all of this (absolute legends btw), and the ones running this full-time: Filip, Oleksander and Vasiliki. The kind of people who make you want to show up.
While I still am very early to draw any conclusions, I’m joining a circle passionate about pushing this forward, with somewhat the same goals in mind. And as the saying goes: dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres (Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are), and another one I grew up with: الإنسان ابنُ بيئته (A person is a product of their environment).
I'm very deliberate about the people I surround myself with. This is no exception. Even if the fruit of this won't come for a while, the people alone make it worth more than any 12€/hour job at a fast food shop.
Next steps:
There's more driving this than I can fit into a blog post, at least not this early.
The biggest goal I want to accomplish with the team is bringing this to Charleroi, a city in which I see so much potential and in which I notice the hard work of the people trying to transform it into a place you’d want to live and be part of. I respect this effort. I want to be part of it too, even if my contribution is just a small one.
Hopefully, in the near future, I can look back on this blog post and have that part crossed out.
But, the realistic next step for now is to revive the biggest force we have – our community. Ideally, our community will be a vibrant place to share and learn from others no matter your background. To say the least, this has been challenging but there is no backing out. I’m sorry in advance to all of our Discord and Whatsapp members having to endure my yap and the occasional shitposting, love you guys.
And with that I conclude this blog post, if you are still reading this just know that I appreciate you pookie and I know that you wouldn’t mind me dropping this shameless plug to the discord (join and show me some love, it has been lonely talking to myself these past few weeks :c ) :
https://discord.gg/XE27CARbX6
Let’s see what this chapter of my life gets me into…
PS.: La version française est en cours, j'y travaille.