132 days ago, I decided to say no to obvious, secure pathways (jobs-PhD) and go all-in with the Abroad Company.
New follower. Comment. Share. Congratulations pouring in. "This is revolutionary!" "You're onto something big!" Each ping felt like validation. Every notification lit up my phone and my brain.
That high? It's gone now.
Now in the real work, the unsexy middle.
The part where 10K likes won't pay your rent.
A thousand 'congratulations' won't convince immigration to extend your visa. (while you bet everything as an international student)
Past 132 days we worked 15 hours a day, we built systems that actually work (somehow).
Good traction. Solid mentor pipeline.
Should I feel like winning?
Actually, it feels like standing at the base of Everest after celebrating that you found the mountain.
I could run ads tomorrow. Throw $5K at Facebook, watch the numbers climb, feel that quick hit of dopamine. Easy. Predictable. Expensive.
But that's not the game we're playing.
My job now? Run experiments that cost nothing but sleep. Growth ways that require creativity over capital.
I’m just looking at today's experiment log.
Actually, no dopamine in these numbers. Just data. Small wins, mostly failures.
We’re chasing something different. The quiet satisfaction of experiments that compound.
Will these experiments work? Some won't. Most won't.
Will I keep running them? Every single day.
Because, we're fixing something fundamentally broken.
The world became borderless; but the systems didn't.
To us, the vision matters more than anything.
Back to the spreadsheets.