Why I quit my job and flew to Romania to bootstrap my startup in the same day
Have you ever always wanted to do something? It’s always been in the back of your head. Move to a new city. Visit a new country. Try a new sport. Pick up a new hobby. Apply for that graduate program. Ask out that pretty girl at the coffee shop.
But then you didn’t.
It might even be high on your list of priorities, but somehow as things go on, you get a little more comfortable. Stability is easy. Change looks risky.
“After all, it might not work out.”
It sounds really expensive. That looks hard. I might not be good at it. What happens if I get rejected? I could fail.
I could fail.
Even so, we often fail to realize the risk of not making a change.
Nothing.
There’s no issues with being happy with where you are and the way things are going, especially if it’s true. Even so, we often overlook deliberateness in our decision-making process. We simply aren’t cognizant of the consequences that our lack of choices proliferate. Choosing to do something is a decision. Choosing not to do something is also a decision.
It’s easy to think of all the things that could go wrong, identifying all of the possible risks without much thought to what could go right.
I might get in. That looks really fun. This could be something special. What happens if I succeed? I could succeed.
I could succeed.
Let’s bring this back a step. Back to the part where we ask ourselves, “What happens if I don’t?” Remember the answer?
Nothing.
That brings us full circle: Why I quit my job and flew to Romania to bootstrap my startup in the same day.
We have a few of our original doubts:
It sounds really expensive. That looks hard. I might not be good at it. What happens if I get rejected? I could fail.
I could fail.
But also, with a few of our possibilities:
I might get in. That looks really fun. This could be something special. What happens if I succeed? I could succeed.
I will succeed.
Of course, what we’re working on is something special as well. It’s important to give credit where it’s due. The foundation of our company, Ladder, is brought to the table entirely by Don Le, CEO. Let’s talk about Ladder.
Ladder — designed to help you be the best you.
Ladder is the habit tracker infused with science-based practices that lets you manage emotions and master your well-being.
We’re looking to explore the relationships between our user’s behaviors, thoughts, and emotions so that we can help users:
- Reduce Stress
- Stay Proactive
- Boost Productivity
- Sleep Better
- Improve Relationships
- Live Mindfully
Among many other goals.
We’ve made it simple to track, understand, and practice daily well-being practice using data intelligence and machine learning (that’s where I, the CTO, come in!)
We’ll dive into the science and technicals in another post, but let’s stay on track for now.
Mental health is currently a bigger issue than it’s ever been.
From users dealing with anxiety, depression, addiction, and other mental illnesses, all the way to users in the biohacking, productivity optimization, and performance increasing community, we’ve streamlined and made accessible Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to a wide range of demographics. We’re constantly shaping our product with revision cycles of usability testing, if you’d like to be a part of it, let’s talk.
Why Romania?
We’re lean, real lean. So, until we’ve established an iOS team (we’re hiring!), we’re currently working with development partners (which are amazing) out in Romania to bootstrap the project. So far, development’s been sailing as smoothly as it can be (more technicals to come in another post). There’s tons to do and get done, but it couldn’t be more electric.
For me, personally:
Financials aside, sink or swim, if we can make a difference in one person’s life, it will all have been worth it.
Even so, we can’t lose.
