June 29 2025
I feel fanstastic.
This is a rare feeling. Regret, sadness, rumination, jealousy. Those are the more common feelings in my brain. But I’m learning. It’s common for people to be set off course by the slightest action. For me, it can be something innocuous like one of the kids not putting their plate in the sink (even though I asked like 3 times!) and that will derail the entire day. 10 seconds of frustration shouldn’t dictate my mood for the next 10 hours.
Ok, so back to the fantastic feeling. You know how looking back at most memories, when you’re living the moment, you don’t notice that it’s one of those lasting memories? I was self aware enough to realize I was experiencing one today. I was pulling the kids around in the pool at the swim club, while “Safety Dance” was playing on the speakers. I’ve actually shown the kids the dancing montage from Biodome with this song, and they said “Daddy you love this song!”
So we played in the pool. And we sang. And we laughed. And it was perfect.
Find your happiness. Find your quota.
Dec 10th 2024
Why did I create this company?
This question popped into my head while on a group bike ride this morning. It was 31 degrees outside, and I was struggling to stick with the group. There are a ton of correlations between the desire to ride up a hill at 6am, and pushing yourself to create something out of nothing.
Am I trying to prove to the other cyclists that I belong? That I can suffer with the best, as they try to rip my legs off and torch my lungs?
Am I trying to prove to my friends and acquaintances that I can be an entrepreneur? That I deserve, no, demand their respect?
So many questions.
The answers will be shaped with hard work, determination, and long nights in front of my KitchenAid stand mixer.
Find your happiness. Find your quota.
Dec 14th 2024
Brand Building.
The hardest part about starting a company is deciding when to stop messing with the product and start focusing on the brand. When is the product good enough? It surely isn’t when the founder is satisfied because founders are notoriously focused on perfection. I’ve made over 100 variations of the collagen bar and continue to make minor adjustments.
For the last 100+ years, Retail has largely looked the same. Consumer visits store, consumer buys product. In the last 10 years, there has been a drastic shift. I’m not talking about online shopping. I’m talking about brand loyalty, unlike anything we’ve seen before. People are drawn to a story, drawn to feeling a certain way about a product. And they want to share passion with like-minded individuals.
I’m very particular about the bike that I ride, the butter I cook with, the mezcal I drink. And I’m not the only one. The intentionality of purchasing specific products has enabled thousands of niche brands to challenge the old guard.
If a company can create a product that has never existed before, can understand what a customer craves, can create a connection with the customer, then a Brand can be born. The goal isn’t to build a product that a lot of people like; the goal is to build a product that a few people love.
Find your happiness. Find your quota.
Dec 18 2024
Just do something.
Failure is an option.
Failure means that you tried. That your plan didn’t work. That you learned something.
There’s far less risk of starting something from nothing in 2024. Infinite upside. Downside is limited to wasting time trying something new. What else is there to do, doom-scroll on social media?
My goal this year was to ride my bike 2,000 miles. As I’ve hovered around 1,000 miles for the past 7 years, it seemed like a stretch.
Current total: 2,084 miles.
Next year’s goal: 4,000 miles.
Next year’s goal #2: Spend time with people that inspire or challenge me. My mom used to strike up conversations at the grocery store, at the restaurant, at the shopping mall. I’ve started doing the same. Infinite upside. Essentially no downside. Making connections in unlikely places will be the theme heading into 2025. Stay tuned.
Find your happiness. Find your quota.