the first time i went to san francisco was november 7, 2013.
a few days before, my boss offered to send me to the growth hackers conference if i could find a cheap flight. this was my first industry event for my new career in tech, so i was ecstatic about the opportunity.
wandering outside SFO airport quickly reminded me of the west coast’s best quality — no humidity. i thought: this air is cool. i am cool. i should live here.
i got into a rental car from a new startup, FlightCar (RIP).
drove North on the 101 to crash at my future job’s office (didn’t know at the time).
at the conference, i met the head of marketing for Homejoy, a hot startup that graduated from Silicon Valley’s darling incubator, Ycombinator.
when i asked about their (cleaning service) cheap $20 price, the guy said “we’re not worried about profit or margins right now. our CEO is telling us to just, like… grow grow grow!”
for the next couple years, this was my experience in technology.
- build a relationship with an infectious founder
- founder raises money
- give up other dreams to help the founder realize theirs
- everyone fails
but finally, things started to change.
i learned to code. i joined a venture capital fund. and because i couldn’t tame the idea, i moved to san francisco.
that’s when i started to experience real success.
i bought a company. i grew it. i built a team. then i decided san francisco sucks, and GTFO out of there.
back in nyc, things still weren’t 100% right. so i retired.
and today, i’m launching myself back into the world as a musician.
to listen to my new album, South of Market, stream it now on Spotify or iTunes. (it’s also live in other stores but i don’t think people listen to music on Amazon.)
here are a few other ways to support me:
- tweet about my new project
- read my annotated lyrics on Genius
- pick up a signed, limited edition floppy disk album
oh, and follow me on Spotify. at 250 fans, i get a checkmark. ;)
here’s what’s next.
a) playing shows around the world
b) recording new singles every month or two
c) diving into industry conferences, meeting producers, etc
i’m also sharing everything i learn as a marketer/developer turned musician.
some upcoming posts for this blog and others:
- finding product-market fit as a songwriter
- musician’s guide to getting ROI from hyper local advertising
- hacking music networks to find new fans
- PR for indie musicians
thanks for reading listening,