Rich beyond my wildest dreams

It’s month end and I high five myself as I sign off the Profit & Loss statement for the board report.

I’m going to be rich beyond my wildest dreams.?

I’m going to support mum and dad when they retire.

I’m going to stick two fingers up at my childhood bullies.?

High five.

A few things need to happen first. But happen they will.

Not only is momentum increasing month after month, our chairman Pete has done this before.?

Pete's a self made High Net Worth Individual, exiting his first startup for 8 figures.?

The sharpest mind I’ve ever known, his professionalism and integrity are the gold standard for the team. It’s like having Messi on your side.?

I’m no slouch, if I do say so myself, and we’ve got A Players in every key position.?

6 figures in seed capital power our head start in a nascent market already worth ￡ billions.

How could we not succeed?

I gave up everything

that might distract me when I co-founded Hamilton Brady (HB) with Pete and became CEO.

I stopped drinking, stopped clubbing, stopped dating.

I cut contact with friends who might lead me astray.

I was 4 when we arrived in the UK, penniless refugees from the Vietnam War.

My parents scrimped and saved to put me through university.

This is my chance to complete the fairy tale.?

To repay mum and dad who risked prison and death, escaping the communists and travelling 10,027 km to enable a better life for our family.?

To exorcise a childhood feeling excluded, different and inferior.

This is everything.

Three weeks later, I call a meeting and ruin Christmas

for 19 of our 26 employees (the other 7 don't enjoy it much either).

There’s shock, disbelief and tears.

I hate it.

But making them redundant is the only way to ensure HB’s survival.

An industry wide legal action has put a stop to all trading.

Amidst the uncertainty, no investor will put another penny in.

We slash overheads, pivot into an adjacent vertical and limp on for a while.

But eventually we run out of runway, and call in the administrators.

5 years, down the pan.?

Dammit.

Pete and I start a wellness SaaS called Keia.

Wellness is worth $ trillions globally. If we get even a single digit share of a subcategory…? game on.

We pick up good momentum. After various ups and downs, we’re on the cusp of a Series A worth 7 figures (the investment round to seriously scale).

Every morning I spring out of bed. I can’t wait to get stuck in.

Much as my prefrontal cortex urges caution, I’m excited.

I really think we might disrupt this fragmented, underdeveloped corner of the market.

AND...

Mental and spiritual wellness is what my wife does.

She uses Keia to run her counselling and therapy practice.

Indeed, her insights led to several features that no-one else offers, and our users love.

It feels like destiny calling.

But actually, it rang the door then ran away.

COVID rears its ugly head and kicks us squarely in the gonads.

The UK follows the US into lockdown.

There’ll be no massages, acupuncture, or reiki and the like, any time soon.?

95% of our users require physical proximity. Zoom just won’t do.

Compounded by other issues, we're forced to wind down operations after 7 years of blood, sweat and tears.

Dammit.

Yet despite being shafted by Events

twice in a row (whilst my first startup pre-Pete was made obsolete by Facebook), I continue to dream.

“The average age of a startup founder is 42 years old, but the average age of founders of the top 0.1% of startups is 45 years old.”

- Harvard Business Review

I’m 46 so not panicking just yet.

“The average number of failed startups before succeeding is 3.”

- Unknown, but I read it on the internet so it must be true.

Keia is my 3rd.

The next one could be it.

And if not the 4th, then surely the 5th. Perhaps the 6th.

Pete and I make a great partnership, with shared values and complementary skills.?

We’ll keep soldiering on until we make it work.?

It’s just a matter of time.?

It’s late Sunday evening

and I’m doom scrolling Youtube Shorts in bed.

50 Cent is on. He tells the interviewer how Eminem stopped touring when his daughter was born.?

To be absent for even a few months is to miss so much.

Eminem realised no amount of money is worth this.

I put my phone down and stare at the ceiling.

Jade and I are trying for our first child.

Founding a startup is no small commitment.

Even working from home, you never switch off.?

Especially as I’d likely be running marketing and operations.

My relationship with Pete is such that I'd never exit a live project.

If I start, I'm finishing.

I recall David Senra on Modern Wisdom.?

He detailed several billionaire workaholics .

All regret missing their children growing up.?

All say the money wasn’t worth it.

The penny drops.

I can always make more money.?

Our child will only grow up once.

What about looking after mum and dad?

What about saying “Up yours,” to the bullies?

I’ve not thought about either in years.?

Another penny drops.

Mum and dad are ok.

They don’t have much, but they don’t need much.

Coming from a 20 year war, they’re grateful for a roof over their head, food on the table and good health all round.

They’d be the first to say, Family not Fortune.

And the bullies??

It was a mental crutch for my teens and twenties.

Channelled anger to get me through challenging times.

I feel nothing towards them anymore.

I’m at peace.

I meet with Pete.

There’s another CEO position on the table if I want it.

I politely decline.

I’m going to be rich beyond my wildest dreams.

But my wealth won’t be measured in $.?

Yet.