how life (literally) punched me in the face while building my start-up

Running a start-up is like eating glass. You just start to like the taste of your own blood. - Sean Parker

I'll be honest—before becoming a startup founder, I thought this quote was the cringiest, most over-dramatic thing I'd ever heard.

I mean, come on dude, you were building Facebook, not storming the beaches of Normandy.

Then I became a founder myself, and suddenly it all made perfect sense lol.

When you’re building a start-up you face a lot of things that make you feel bad:

• Investors tell you your idea sucks
• Customers cancel big contracts (for you) on a whim
• You often feel you’re spinning your wheels
• Plus all the other drama that comes with small business

My start-up experience wasn’t a lot different - until I got sucker punched in the face.

And while there is never an ideal time to get punched in the face - this was particularly bad timing.

Here’s a quick timeline on what happened:

• January 2022: founded DealBuilder with a small capital raise
• January 2023: after gaining initial traction, we needed more money. And fast.
• February 2023: a PR stunt resulted in me pitching my start-up on-stage in front of a live audience of 1,000+ people. I ended up closing our fundraising round and felt on top of the world.

• March 2023: while walking home one night I get sucker punched in a random attack from a stranger. I break my nose, cheekbone, and jaw and I require reconstructive surgery.

To make matters worse, several investors who had verbally committed in February backed out at the last minute.

At this point, I would have gladly eaten a bowl of glass instead.

The next two years were the hardest professional experience of my life. Operating on a shoe-string budget, I skip payroll countless times. Raising money for a tech company during this time is virtually impossible.

My lowest point came when I had to lay off team members I deeply cared about—all to get the business to break-even.

Eventually, in the fall of 2024, I found a company to take over the business (but that's a whole other story).

Did I feel like quitting? 10,000%—usually more than once a day.

So what kept me going? In these truly shitty life moments, I rely on two Stoic mindsets:

1. Amor Fati—the love of fate. Embrace everything that happens in life—both good and bad—as essential parts of life's journey, rather than resisting or dwelling on circumstances beyond our control.
2. The Dichotomy of Control: Find peace of mind by focusing on what you can control while accepting and letting go of what you cannot.

Instead of making excuses or complaining about my situation (as you know I think complaining is a waste of time), I put my head down and focused on getting 1% better each day.

Though life continues to throw challenges my way, these frameworks have made the difference—business is thriving, my motivation has never been stronger, and I'm happier than ever before.

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idea of the week ??

• problem: Small businesses lose significant revenue due to incorrect or outdated product listings across different online platforms (Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.). Manually updating each platform is time-consuming and often forgotten.
• idea: Create a platform that lets businesses update their information once and automatically syncs changes across all major online directories and social platforms. Think of it as a "universal remote" for your business's online presence.
• how it makes money: Monthly subscription ($49-99/month) with tiered pricing based on number of locations and platforms managed. Additional revenue from premium features like analytics, review management, and competitor tracking.
• why it might fail: Platform APIs frequently change, requiring constant maintenance. Also, bigger players like Google My Business could expand their features to make this redundant.

friday fitness

Get after these workouts this weekend. Remember that starting is the hardest part.

at-home workout:

Complete 3 rounds:

• 30 jumping jacks
• 20 alternating lunges (total)
• 15 push-ups
• 10 burpees
• 1-minute plank hold

Rest 90 seconds between rounds

gym workout

• 5x5 barbell squats (increase weight each set)
• 4x12 dumbbell rows
• 3x15 leg press
• Finisher: 100 kettlebell swings for time

outdoor workout

• Run 400m
• 25 park bench step-ups (each leg)
• 20 decline push-ups
• Run 200m
• 15 pull-ups (or inverted rows using park bench)
• 30 bodyweight squats
• Sprint 100m

Complete 2 rounds, rest as needed between exercises.

tweet of the week

I've tried (though not consistently) to implement this work pattern over the past year. On the days I succeed, it's truly a game-changer for productivity.

For those of us who are hard on ourselves (like most entrepreneurs), it's liberating—even if all you accomplish is that one big thing for the day.

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