Building in Public in 2020
Welcome to my stereotypical announcement about how my life is going to change in 2020. I've never done something like this, and consider the idea quite tacky, but there's a couple reasons I'm doing it. The first is this, Anne-Laure's an incredible writer and watching it transform her 2019 along the path of the mindframing framework she came up with is inspirational. But I first read this article over the summer and never took the plunge into building in public. The reason I'm doing this today is because I recently read a blog series that relit a spark in me that I haven't felt in a while. Tim Urban's book-length deep-dive on Elon Musk and all his companies helped me remember the impact that I want to have. I may not have some of Musk’s grandiose multi-century vision, but I would say that I have a big vision of some of the things I want to accomplish that I am not necessarily on the path towards. The final article in the series (which I linked above), explains how as humans, we've evolved to have overactive "fear glands". We used to have to hunt or be hunted, fight or flee, eat or starve, and find shelter or freeze; these realities made fear our friend. Graduating without a “stable” job is scary, but biologically, that fear is overblown. Most students that were in my position go to large tech, consulting, or finance roles to avoid this fear; pretty much the “safest” thing a graduate can. do. Growing up as an upper middle class white-passing kid from Atlanta, Georgia, I don't really face impending death anytime soon because of this decision. The worst that happens is I have to move back in with my parents until my top 15 private school credentials help me land a job that pays the bills. Not exactly life-threatening.
Now, I'll share a little more about me so you understand the context for the rest of this esssay/announcement. As of December 2019, I am a proud graduate of Vanderbilt University. It took me three and a half years, but could have taken as few as 2.5. I decided to take the extra time to slow my semesters down and take a semester off. Since high school, I've known I wanted to be a founder. In college, I tried my hand at startups a couple times, got discouraged, and tried consulting. I loved it! But it wasn't the impact I personally wanted to have, so I quit. More on that he
re for those curious. Over the past 12 months, my dad and I have been working on a startup called JourneyLIFE. I spent the spring semester and summer back home working all day every day on our company and split time between school and JourneyLIFE in the fall. I've been back home in Atlanta for the holidays and done a lot of thinking about what 2020 and the next few years hold. I thought I had it figured out, but life has a funny way of not caring about your plan.
What I've decided is that in 2020, I want to start to really have an impact outside of my immediate sphere. Most of that will be through JourneyLIFE, so that's where my efforts will go. But alongside it, I want to share my story. I would venture a guess to say there aren't tons of students who graduate pursuing a startup, especially on the east coast. There are probably a lot more that graduate without a plan or without a plan they like. Hopefully, sharing my journey about what it's like to be in the trenches as a 22-year-old startup founder resonates with a couple people that find it helpful. I'd like to cover everything from JourneyLIFE's mission and its evolution, early sales, distribution strategy, mental health, learning about product, my founder philosophies and lessons, self-reflections, and ongoing progress updates. Happy to add to that list if anyone is interested in specific topics.
Now, since part of this is about public accountability, here's some of my goals in 2020. Not resolutions, because that's even more tacky than this blog announcement about my new years goals, but goals that I think will help me towards making the impact I want to make.
Get JourneyLIFE to breakeven. I want the optionality of taking on investor dollars or growing profitably.
Get in physical shape I am happy with. In high school, I lifted weights 6-7 times a week. Now, I'm disappointed when I look in the mirror, knowing how easy it would be to get me in better shape. No specific goals around gym time/week or weight because I don't know where my activity habits will be built.
Start working in the education space. This is my passion area. I'm still fuzzy on details here, and JourneyLIFE does some education non-profit work, but I want this to grow. One thing I know I want to do is speak to classes more. Maybe find high school classes interested in entrepreneurship in addition to the occasional college class. I’ve often found high schoolers are still naive enough about the world to still have some creativity and unique ambition left (see image below from linked Elon Musk article above).
Share what I'm doing with the world. Starting with this post. Shipping cadence is still TBD, but I'd like to post at least twice a month.
Prioritize my relationships. I don't think I do a bad job of this today, but I know when I get into focused work mode, I can easily go a few months without speaking to my best friends, and while my work is fulfilling, my friends and family are what bring my joy.
I know this list is pretty vague, and only 2 of these goals can really be measured, but it feels like the right place to start. I'd like to do an update on these goals quarterly, so everyone can see my progress. That's all for now folks, but I hope you stick around and follow along.
And because this is a New Year reflection post, I'd be remiss to end without a Happy New Year! and Here's to 2020. And please, stop the 20/20 vision jokes. It's already too much.
Signing Off,
Jonathan
P.S. to follow along my journey, hit this button