How I built a startup in secret while scaling a VC backed startup and became a parent...

Two years ago I had a somewhat tactical but necessary retreat from entrepreneurship. In other words, it was a real kick in the balls when my first startup failed. With the tail between the legs, licking my wounds, I jumped ship. I was fortunate enough to join an early stage tech company, in the middle of raising VC capital. The founders brought me on an amazing journey, which to this day I am grateful for. 

Yet I kept silent, obedient and waved goodbye to my autonomy for a pay-check. I had to swallow my pride and deliver. Like a cog in a well-oiled machine, taking orders and trying to make amends with past failures. Every quarter a wave of frustration kicked in and I contemplated on leaving. My exit kept postponing due to a great company culture and some very awesome colleagues, while the product and industry were very appealing to me. The job involved a lot of travelling and meeting industry veterans, hence my network grew. It was a very comfortable situation that made it hard for me to leave. So I stayed...

Working for someone else did contribute to a learning, which I didn't even know I was interested in pursuing. The most valuable part was coming in at an early stage. Scaling a SaaS startup into a mature company from seven to 45 employees, felt like a marathon. It took us 12 months to hire, build teams, move into new offices and scale sales. VC’s make you run for quarterly MRR goals. Their capital is like rocket fuel, as you scale at high velocity. I enjoyed the ride because we ended up growing the business from a few thousand to $1M USD in ARR. I am very grateful and proud of achieving that type of growth and if I were to compare it with others startups, many never reach those levels. While some startups raise capital, hire fast and put all focus on their product, they also reach a level of mediocrity due to unscalable sales and then burn out. But not this one - it had pure growth every quarter. In the end, despite the success and my enjoyment in the work and assignments, it was neither my company nor my product. The desire to create and the need to execute on my own terms grew day by day. A rock-solid pay-check brought comfort but was also a means to bootstrap a business in my spare time. Not being part of the vision, strategy and building a product, pushed me to build my own startup. And so I did...while becoming a parent. 

Over the course of 16 months, a startup was born in complete stealth. Maplify - an intelligent map platform for complex outdoor events. A platform built by a small team of very talented individuals, which I managed to put together. They were all in the same situation, with full-time jobs and family. Together we hustled on the side and we kept grinding in thick and thin. The long-term vision was to build a mobile payment product for high volume events while the short-term goal to build a mapping platform as a medium to gain access to all onsite products. After building an MVP and a few failures, the real product launched at Live Nation's Copenhell summer festival 2017. 8.000 users browsed our custom map, opened locations and searched for products. It was absolutely a fantastic feeling to know that someone out there was using our product. The map delivered valuable information to guests, but there was no payment layer - it was yet to come. Time was such a scarce resource that planning and executing all happened at a snail's pace. This affected our long-term strategy, resulting in postponing product development. After 16 months of hustling and exhaustion, we decided to put a stop to all development and take a break. I quit my full-time job and waved goodbye to my dear colleagues. Taking a break was necessary. Besides regaining energy and focus, the most important thing was to put all things in perspective.

Building a company in stealth with a full-time job is one of the most challenging and maybe dumbest things I’ve ever done. My initial focus should have been with my family as I became a father. Due to the lack of sleep, energy and constant grind, I created a stress-induced environment. I gained weight and grey hairs while underperforming in multiple areas. Juggling a full-time job, startup and family, made me neglect social life, friends and any form of physical activity. For 10-12 months I tried to survive, attempting to keep all these balls in the air. Sometimes I succeeded and sometimes I had to pick them up after dropping them on the floor. Without the support of my better half, it would have been an impossible mountain to climb. Building a business gave me purpose and tremendous joy, so I didn't stop. I kept going like an obsessed madman. 

In conclusion, whether I want it or not, there is an itch to fuel a creative urge, that keeps me awake at night. A thirst to build, plan and execute on my own terms. To pour your heart and soul into something that grows and blossoms. When you combine work with passion, your energy gets better, your focus becomes intense and you strive to achieve that sense of purpose. I don’t know what to call it, either being entrepreneurial or becoming free. The extreme stealth-mode approach may not be the right answer for other entrepreneurs looking to navigate change, in a similar situation (that is if you are as crazy and naive as me). It is far more important to create the conditions for change and growth. Juggling so many balls results in radical time. Lack of time results in lack of focus, which increases your risk of failure. Invest your own time wisely if you wish to progress. This was a great learning experience and the result was a business built out of frustration and lack of sleep. Sometimes just say f**k it, go do it and remember to always dream big.