10 Years at Launch

(originally posted on Linkedin)

10 years is a long time for anything, but in tech, it’s forever. OpenAI didn’t exist for most of 2015. The Tesla Model 3 was a pipedream. TikTok wasn’t around to be banned and unbanned until 2016. The price of bitcoin was $314.

However, oddly enough, if it’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that the more things change, the more they stay the same. 9 years ago, I wrote some reflections on what I learned during my first year working at Launch Academy: and most of it remains as true as it ever was. I still don’t think I’m all that important, I’m still trying to make sure anything I build out-scales myself, and I definitely still don’t know what I don’t know.

I’ve also picked up a couple other things along the way:

1. We’re more capable than we think

Even though nobody takes me less seriously than myself, this has been incredibly evident in the builders I’ve crossed paths with. In an era where the barrier to entry is lower than ever and information is ubiquitous, sometimes all that lies between market winners and losers is the basic belief that they can do a just a little bit more. At Launch, we dared to dream just a little bit. Could we bring a conference here that Vancouver’s never seen before? Could we build a startup program that attracts founders from all over the world to come join us? Could we do all that while maintaining our integrity and values? Turns out we could. Who knew?

2. Vibes, bro

Working is hard. No matter how much you love what you do, there’s always going to be tasks that you don’t want to do. That’s why it’s so important to surround yourself with people you vibe with, because when what you do constantly changes, it’s more important who you do it with, and our team (Jean, Camille, Elena) has made it so much fun to build, work, and grow together. (To the many past alumni of Launch, I haven’t forgotten you but I won’t tag you all or else this will never end). And of course, I can’t ever talk about Launch without talking about Ray. We’re just used to each other at this point. He’ll be the first to point out he’s not for everybody, but he gives me full autonomy to build, and I’ve found the right spots to pick his brain when I’m out of my depth. This isn’t to say we agree all the time. In fact, we disagree a lot. But when you’ve found a crew you vibe with, it makes everything more interesting.

3. Smell them flowers

We’ve had our fair share of hurdles over the years, and in fact, this might be one of the rare times where there’s not an active fire we’re dealing with (and I can spend an hour writing a post on the internet), but now 10 years in, I actually enjoy the work I do. This isn’t to say I didn’t like my job before, I just never took a breath in the moment to think: “hey, this is pretty cool”. A lot of the founders have built amazing things during my time, but a lot of times early on, I was caught on the hustle and bustle. It was always about the next milestone, the next deliverable, not recognizing that very few people in the world get to see the innovation that I see. There will always be another urgent email to respond to, but if you don’t pay attention, a decade will just fly on by.

In trying to think of a cute way to end this, the age old question of what advice I would give my younger self comes up. But to be honest, I didn’t deliberate even for a second because the answer was so obvious:

buy bitcoin.

Thank you everyone that’s been a part of my 10 years here. Here’s to many more.