Hey friends,
As week 1 of 2022 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past 12-months. This is something I have been doing on an individual basis for the past few years; this marks my first time doing it publicly.
This is part of a larger effort I have taken in self-reflection over the past ~18 months.
2021 was a bit of a rollercoaster for me; I have grown significantly and could not be more excited about the road ahead. A couple of quick highlights from 2021, below:
Graduated from college (my family cares a lot about academics, so it was nice to graduate with Latin honors + make them proud)
Continued on my 2020 trend of working out (almost) daily and making mental / physical health a top priority (I purchased an Eight Sleep in September; between my Whoop and Eight Sleep, I'm doing my best to maximize performance, sleep, and recovery)
Grew The Takeoff to 2,000+ followers / subscribers (closing in on 10,000 reads on my B2B Payments post; Roshan Chandna is running The Takeoff, excited for what's ahead there)
Tried building my own startup, Discovr (this started in 2020; I had a LOT of fun + learned a ton while working on it - ultimately, we didn't hit the KPIs and milestones we were hoping for)
Spent Summer 2021 working alongside & learning more about VC from the amazing folks at Addition
Moved into NYC
Joined the incredible team at Insight Partners in October (couldn't be more thrilled with how my first few months have gone + I am psyched for what's ahead; there are very few places that are both exceptional at what they do and full of A+ people - Insight is one of them; I’m very lucky)
I am incredibly thankful to everyone who has played a part in my growth and development over the past few years. This list is nearly endless, and if you are receiving this email you are in that group, but to name a few:
Rick Zullo, Adam Kurkiewizc, Arun Sundaresan, Jesse Pujji, Robbie Horwitz, Roshan Chandna, Barak Kaufman, Joshua Rahn, Eric Cohen, Shaheel Mitra, Brooke Cohen, the whole Insight crew, and, lastly, my family & close friends
You have all gone above and beyond in helping me as a 20-something-year-old navigate my life and career. I greatly value your friendship and mentorship.
Onward and upward.
Cheers,
Spiro