A new year's thank you

One year ago today I announced that I was going off on my own to start a new business.

Starting your own company with no guaranteed income when you have a family and live in the Bay Area where all your expenses are super-sized makes for an intimidating leap.

The past year of working on the business has exceeded my own expectations but a great deal of that is due to others who put their faith in me and I wanted to take a moment to call them out here.

First and foremost, my family and especially my wife, Toni, who has always believed in me, even when I was a punk ass 25 year old whose main source of income was… DJing in nightclubs. I can’t emphasize enough how much she is the reason that I actually got my shit together to do something more interesting with my life.

My first customers were people who previously knew or worked with me. They were the initial boost that got things off the ground and I'm indebted to them all for both their guidance as well as their current and future partnership. Christian, Andrey, Radu, thank you all. It means so much to me that you brought me into your businesses those first few months. Otherwise, I would have been staring at the fake placeholder meetings in my Calendly intended to provide the illusion to potential clients that I wasn’t completely open.

Then there were customers who found me through the recommendations of others. Allison, Nicholas and Brittney all put their faith in me even though I was a company of one with no history as a solo-preneuer. I’m forever grateful for the trust each one of you placed in me.

Jason, your kind words here on LinkedIn and random referrals mean more to me than you can imagine. Thank you for the kind words and for the Boichik Bagel recommendation. Their malty goodness really is next level and the perfect fuel for biking.

There's 🚀 Peter who, for some crazy reason, thought it would be a good idea to join a one-person company with less than a year of revenue on the books. I will forever question your wisdom for that leap but I’m extremely glad you made the choice. Working with someone of your caliber, drive and skills keeps me on my toes and I’m very much looking forward to building with you for years to come. (Also, thanks Malte for the intro!)

There are too many others to name who have helped me along the way, sharing wisdom, providing guidance and inspiration and making introductions. You know who you are, thank you all for everything!

There’s big plans for 2025 and I’m more excited than ever with much more to share in the coming days and weeks.

To everyone who's been a part of this journey - thank you. Your trust and support turned an intimidating leap into an incredible first year. Here's to building something even better together in 2025 🥳