This short reflection piece encapsulates my thoughts recently, mainly about my vision, my relationships, and my plan. I am writing this on the plane thousands of ft up in the air above Ishigaki.
For the longest time I have been passionate about startups. This has been my entire focus for the entirety of 2023. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to work at a budding startup, working with some of the brightest and nicest people I’ve ever met. If anything, this has led me to futher my resolve on starting my own company someday, and creating something beautiful for the world. This was also my first true experience in building my own creation - Supacharge (AI UX Research Platform). I’ve always believed that I can’t call myself an aspiring entrepreneur if I have never started something on my own, and this was a sweet moment which I finally take a starting step in the right direction. There were many ups and downs and lots of lessons learnt, but at the end of the day the resolve is still strong. If there is one key takeaway, that would be taking great care of my physical, mental, and emotional health. Entrepreneurship is a very very lonely and daunting journey. Stepping into 2024, I must be at my prime condition at most times in order to perform and do the things I set out to accomplish.
So what’s your million dollar startup idea? I honestly don’t know. Startups are about solving million-dollar problems, and I am currently solving penny problems to gain the experience for the future when I slay the dragon. This whole notion of solving higher-value problems also led me to my interest in the fintech space - even if I am not sure what’s my next startup idea, I know that I want to solve problems in the financial space to generate value for people. That is a lot more books, podcasts, and practice in the crypto-stocks realm for 2024. But who knows, afterall a successful team of super-passionate and capable people driving a vision they have for the world, whatever the vision be.
The next short paragraph is my 2-cents after enjoying dumbMoney on my ANA flight. Having witnessed firsthand the fanatical era of the game stop share saga, I got to appreciate the whole story a little better. This is about the story of normal, regular folks like the rest of us, students working to pay off loans, parents hustling to provide a better life for their families, honest people working hard. It is truly admirable how someone like Keith Gill could use his analytical abilities, and social influence to orchastrate such a bold move against some of the biggest financial players. I truly feel that it is such a great scene to watch the common person paying off their loans, reward themselves and their families, and do so much more in life. I want to be someone with the influence to truly make a difference in the lives of so many.
This, along with ‘his house’ (a horror film that plays on the tough conditions immigrants have to go through to escape conflict and poverty in search of a better life in a foreign land), form the perfect frame for my new journey. This is also a reminder for me to love more, have more empathy to those around me, be kind to people, and work hard for my dreams. This new year is going to be a groundbreaking one. I am right at the doorstep of the biggest financial centre in the world, lots of opportunities if I have the courage to seize it. New year, new york.