For those that didn't receive the last update via email...
Here are some broad stroke updates:
Been building a company called NOMADIQ (see logo above)
Formally transitioned from CBRE to go full time on the startup
More recently
Investing Innovation Cohort retreat in Boston
Convened with 40 individuals from around the globe to better understand the problems and opportunities being solved in various regions. Some takeaways:
Traditional change making systems (I.e. investment, philanthropy, legislation, advocation, etc...) are no longer enough siloed by themselves.
The most successful change-making models in today's society are those which involve the cross collaboration of various entities (businesses, countries, locales, etc.) to tackle issues.
The increasingly interconnected social fabric of the world juxtaposed with governments' desires to deglobalize makes for a difficult societal innovation and improvement, especially for earlier stage economies.
The misalignment between media's financial incentives and greater social wellbeing has created a great divide that has only proliferated each side's distaste for the other, making it difficult to collaborate & innovate.
New York Networking
Coattailed onto my Boston trip, I spent a few days in New York to better develop relationships with some potential investors and partners for NOMADIQ.
Highlight: Officially brought on advisor - COO of Atlas Real Estate Partners, Noah Weiss.
Also made some connections to potential executive team members.
Building out the NOMADIQ team
About a month ago, I was introduced to Angelina Fomina, an ex-Meta PM who built out the tech stack for Urby and is generally a badass. As of two weeks ago, she has come on board to help build out the tech stack for NOMADIQ. She's also brought on board a UI/UX designer, Anna Starikova, and a back-end engineer, Gabriel Ortiz.
Looking forward
Getting meetings
I am in go-mode. Trying to court future executive team members, investors, partners, etc. Please reach out if anyone in this general space comes to mind - would love to hear more.
Market research
You might think this is full of BS, but the vast majority of companies in this general competitive space are based in Europe. So, to put together a better business case, I will be taking the next three months (starting May 22nd) to stay at as many remote-work centric properties as possible. My goal? To learn the ins & the outs of each business - what are the weaknesses, strengths, gaping holes, etc.
Struggles
Building the team - it's slow. Ambitious and hungry, I want to go go go, buttt it's a little difficult as a one man show. Luckily, we've begun to grow, but the more the merrier - especially with folks who share an aligned vision of the future.
Shoutouts
Colin - Thank you for letting me crash while I was in Boston. Super helpful to have a home base while on the road. Also, s/o Mychael for the Red Sox tickets!!
M+D - As always, so incredibly supportive. I know I've been calling a lot recently, but it's so helpful to have someone to bounce ideas and thoughts off of constantly (P.S. - a cofounder would be helpful LOL).
Angel - Thank you for letting me crash in NY. Always enjoy our conversations and boy do I enjoy our meals! I can't imagine living with so many incredible food options right around the corner - so jealous.
In closing
Be sure to sign up for NOMADIQ updates... can't wait to keep you all posted on what's to come.
Stryker Lewis
Kommentare