Extremely dedicated startup CEO makes birthday PowerPoint presentation featuring 1,284 slides


Talk about a gift that keeps on giving — whether anyone else wanted it to or not.
Ryan Allis, a self-described "passionate, joyous tech entrepreneur," turns 30 years old today. Most people — especially those past the age of, say, 16 — would celebrate with cake or a fancy dinner, and maybe throw a small party with some friends.
Not Ryan Allis.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The startup journeyman has lived, and he decided to mark his foray into a new decade with "Lessons From My 20s" — "a presentation on everything I learned in my 20s on life, entrepreneurship, and the world."
Allis' lessons took the form of a PowerPoint presentation consisting of 1,284 slides. I'm genuinely not sure who would willingly slog through more than 1,000 slides with such nuggets of wisdom as, "Padawan is Sanskrit for 'learner,'" and "Make sure everyone knows they can talk to you anytime." Maybe Allis' mom, because moms are good for that kind of thing. (Conveniently, Allis writes in his forward to the presentation that his mom was in fact the inspiration for this "somewhat big" project, so looks like that works out!)
Take a look at the whole presentation here if you're looking for hundreds of PowerPoint slides to read. Oh, and happy birthday, Ryan Allis!
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
Epstein files: Maxwell courts a pardon
Feature A new prison transcript shows Ghislaine Maxwell praising Trump as 'a gentleman' while denying his involvement in the Epstein scandal
-
Pentagon readies military deployment in Chicago
Feature The Pentagon is preparing to deploy thousands of Illinois National Guard members to Chicago after Trump threatened to send troops into other major cities
-
Trump: Taking over the private sector?
Feature Donald Trump has secured a 10% stake in Intel using funds from the Biden-era CHIPS Act
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play