I helped co-found a startup a little under two years ago while I was finishing my senior year of college. There were highs, lows and everything in between. I have journeyed deep into the bowels of iOS, gained some hard won operations wisdom, and improved as a programmer. I have found myself in many a pitch presentation, demos, and customers front offices. All in all it’s been a good ride. I’m leaving for reasons I do not wish to write about extensively on the internet, but it boils down to being unhappy with some management decisions that I cannot agree with. Today I gave my official notice and will be leaving on August 30 to travel the world.
Off the deep end
My lease ends in September and I will be leaving the bay after 5 unforgettable years. I have things I want to work on but more importantly I have experiences I want to have. What better time to do it than now? I’m 24 with skills to keep me afloat, a yearning to expand my perception of reality, and no one who depends on me.
I’m just going to let it all go. The commute, the weekend coding that never seems to matter, and a lifestyle that is rotting me from the core. Why should I be working my ass off for the next 4-5 years for a venture backed startup when what I really desire is experiences that push the boundaries of my existence? As someone who wrestled all the way through my career at Stanford I’m tired of not pushing myself. I trained my entire life to become relentlessly better each and every day on the mat and it’s time to take that same attitude with me on my journey to sharpen my existence.
What about money?
From a professional standpoint I’ve got a few feelers out to companies in search of flexible freelance gigs (looking for a short term contractor? drop me a line). I also have some products of my own that I want to create and a few books I want to publish Nathan Barry style.
In fact I just built a landing page for my first product (well class to be exact). It’s an extension of workshops I have put on at the Stanford Graduate School of Business over the past two years and is a deep dive into user testing techniques designed to ground your future projects in reality through conversations with real, relevant customers.
Talk soon!