Last fall, I attended my first major hackathon. A hackathon is an event that lasts at least 24 hours, where student entrepreneurs from different backgrounds try to build an app within a short time span.
At the beginning of the hackathon, they gave us a goodie bag which included a bottle of Coffiest: a mix of coffee and Soylent.
Soylent is described as a "ready-to-drink meal in a bottle" made of mostly soy protein. Soylent is mostly used by Silicon Valley workers and startup founders as food, so that they don't have to stop working to eat.
During the hackathon, I noticed that the people were mostly drinking bottles of Soylent. This observation got me thinking: "Do student entrepreneurs really eat nothing but Soylent as they work?"
In order to see if this assumption was true, I asked five former and current students who are entrepreneurs when they created their startup and what they ate while they worked. Here's what they said.
1. Tons of Fruits
Fruits such as watermelon, strawberries and oranges are what keep Abhishek, co-founder of the fashion startup Samshék, running. Fruit contains vitamin C, which is important for growth and repair of body tissues and helps the body recover from damage. The vitamin C helps Abhishek stay healthy, so that he doesn't have to worry about his body when working on his company.
2. Granola Bars
Leah, co-founder of Abroaden, a diversity-centered startup, usually eats quick foods such as granola bars. Granola is one of the better choices for snacking as it's high in dietary fibers and can boost energy. Healthy snacks that are quick to eat and boost energy are perfect for those like Leah, who don't want to stop working to eat.
3. Avocado Toast
Stephanie, co-founder of Bathing Beauteas, a beauty startup, believes in healthy eating when working for a long time. That's why when she works for a long time, she likes to eat avocado toast. The avocados are high in beta-sitosterol, which helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels. The health benefits keeps Stephanie healthy, so she can spend time on her company, not her health.
4. Cookies and Tea
On the contrary, Joyce, the other co-founder of Bathing Beauteas, likes to snack on cookies and tea while she works. Cookies are high in unhealthy sugars, so they'll only give you a short amount of energy.
Tea, on the other hand, is high in antioxidants, which help delay cell damage, keeping the body healthy. Antioxidants keep regular tea drinkers like Joyce healthy so that they can work on big projects.
5. Burritos
Justin, co-founder of Frontier, a virtual simulation startup, says that one of the things that he likes to eat while he works for extended periods of time is burritos.
Despite the fact that burritos from Chipotle, a go-to spot around Justin's university, can be around 1,000 calories, the nutrients from the ingredients are actually pretty healthy. For example, the beans at Chipotle contain no saturated fat and have around 10 grams of fiber.
Eating good hearty burrito with tons of ingredients makes sure that hard-working entrepreneurs like Justin can keep working hard on projects without forgetting nutrients.
In Conclusion...
I was wrong when I thought student entrepreneurs only drank Soylent. Student entrepreneurs actually prefer to eat real and nutritious food. They don't sacrifice good food in order to spend more time to work on their companies. Even if they want to spend long periods of time working, they'll choose to get real food and just eat in front of their laptop.
To all the aspiring entrepreneurs or students who are extremely busy: Ditch the Soylent. Go get some healthy food. Don't be afraid to get a little food on your laptop.