Chime In What Undergrad Social Life Taught Me about Founding Companies Stories You May Like Hotelie Creates Hyper-Seasonal Cuisine, Served with Theatrical Flair Hip Hop Collection Charts Early Days of a Cultural Phenomenon The ‘Morris Worm’: A Notorious Chapter of the Internet’s Infancy I majored in computer science—but things I learned outside the classroom inspired my bestseller, Outrageous Startup Growth “Chime In” comprises brief first-person essays by Cornellians. Do you have a topic in mind? Email us at cornellians@cornell.edu! By Colin Hodge ’07 Nearly every semester at Cornell, I tried to nab a spot in the intro psychology course. You may remember the routine: wake up at some ungodly hour, frantically refresh the course scheduling site, selecting your pre-planned schedule with fingers crossed. But every semester, to my chagrin, Psych 101 was filled before I could get in. I only took one writing course, a creative writing elective I mostly chose simply because it fit in my schedule. This is, admittedly, an ironic origin story for someone who later wrote a surprise national bestselling book on behavioral science. I moved into Cornell’s transfer dorm as a computer science major, arriving with cautious excitement and a suitcase full of imposter syndrome. Back home in Pennsylvania, I’d been at the top of our class—the boy genius with a knack for computers. At Cornell, the top of the class wasn’t even in sight. Persevering through those intensely challenging engineering courses turned out to be early training for the resilience I’d desperately need later. The author (second from right) with undergrad friends. But a key part of my education wasn’t listed on any syllabus—it was the intertwining of my formal and informal education that led me down my particularly ridiculous career path. A campus newspaper that shall not be named is where I built storytelling muscles and attempted humor with mixed results, including my first-hand story of a bungled burglary on Eddy Street in Collegetown that ended with a SWAT team sweeping our lawn. A key part of my education wasn’t listed on any syllabus—it was the intertwining of my formal and informal education that led me down my particularly ridiculous career path. On the soccer field, I learned to herd cats: getting people with volatile personalities and wildly different commitment levels to show up, run the same direction, and occasionally win. That’s also a generous description of managing a startup. The most formative development was social. After a breakup with my high school girlfriend, I took crash courses in flirting, rejection, and spotting attraction by hopping around house parties. What started as “monkey see, monkey do” quickly became genuine curiosity. Stories You May Like Hotelie Creates Hyper-Seasonal Cuisine, Served with Theatrical Flair Hip Hop Collection Charts Early Days of a Cultural Phenomenon My new friends, more diverse than anyone I’d grown up with, were teaching me empathy and serving as role models as I uncovered my extroverted side. My curiosity burned bright: why we behave as we do, how we meet and choose our partners, and how to improve ourselves on both accounts. Years later, that curiosity sparked my first dating startup, Heard About You. It failed. From the wreckage came something better. That second startup began with an outrageous brand—Bang With Friends—and survived a lawsuit, a banning, and two acquisitions with a fire sale in between before becoming Down, a top-10 U.S. dating app. The journey took me around the world, and with each year I leaned less on my CS degree and more on what I’d learned outside the classroom. Almost 20 years after Cornell—and over 100 million users later on myriad products—the common thread finally became visible. When I sat down to write a book, it took a friend to point out the pattern. It’s why some startups go viral, while most go splat. What I’d learned was that user psychology wins: when my teams dove deeply into understanding the mindset of our users and engineering a better environment for their success, we found sustainable growth. When we didn’t, well—we didn’t. Almost 20 years after Cornell—and over 100 million users later on myriad products—the common thread finally became visible. I picked up those skills of observation, empathy, and action in Ithaca, just trying to figure out what was actually going on with the people around me. The best opportunities aren’t strictly found within our formal expertise; opportunity lies at the intersection of our expertise with our passions. Those formative extracurricular experiences, combined with the foundation of computer science, led me to growing startups across dozens of countries and many millions of users. It ultimately led to my debut book, Outrageous Startup Growth: Uncovering the Secrets of User Psychology to Scale Your Success. Hodge's book was published in April 2026. I never would’ve guessed that my time spent befriending people outside of class would have as much of an impact as the classes themselves. But I’m sure glad that they did—even if I still haven’t gotten into that damn psych class. Colin Hodge ’07 is a bestselling author, startup founder and advisor, and keynote speaker. His other experience includes serving as chief growth officer of 17Live, the top live-streaming video company in Asia. (All images provided.) Published June 18, 2026 Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. 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