Beyond Gradients

2025 Reflections: A Year of Breaking, Building, and Becoming

What I learned this year—through wins, losses, and the ideas that shaped me—helped me grow into a better builder, a stronger leader, and a clearer…

Dec 1 • 

Mark Chen

October 2025

How to Read Machine Learning Papers Fast but Still Learn - The Top 7 Strategies from ICLR Reviewer

Master the art of decoding ML papers—grasp key ideas, skip the fluff, and learn smarter in less time - The top 7 strategies to approach scientific…

Oct 8 • 

Mark Chen

1

September 2025

The 8 Essential Traits That Define Great Researchers

An insider’s perspective on the characteristics that separate extraordinary researchers from the merely competent.

Sep 26 • 

Mark Chen

1

New Personal Website Template is Now Live

My Latest Premium Personal Website Template with Substack and YouTube Integration is Now Available on Gumroad

Sep 9 • 

Mark Chen

August 2025

Not All Things Are Valued Equally

The Hidden Code Behind the 1% of Projects, Assets, and Wealth

Aug 17 • 

Mark Chen

May 2025

Journey Before Destination: What I Didn’t Expect When Building an AI Venture

Lessons-Learned from Building an AI start-up from zero to one

May 24 • 

Mark Chen

1

August 2024

About Ascent Lab - A Platform of Growth and Reflection

A Quick Introduction to the Ascent Lab - A Platform of Growth and Reflection from Mark Chen at Mindify AI.

Aug 22, 2024 • 

Mark Chen