This is a thank you to Paige Craig and my LA Tech community
These last few weeks have been really tough for me. I miss being in a relationship, spending time with girlfriends, traveling. I’ve given up just about every ounce of personal life I’ve had over the last decade for the freedom of being an entrepreneur.
Truly there is nothing more rewarding than knowing I have the power to turn a dream, a speckle of a thought, into an oasis. There is so much magic in seeing my dreams come to fruition. And the fact that my teammates get to see their dreams come true in tandem with mine.
With that being said it leaves me little time to, well, be me. The me that’s hidden behind my company. Light hearted. Adventurous. Romantic. Vulnerable. Scared.
In being a part of the LA tech community I have not only found new friends who (like my childhood friends) accept the sacrifices I make, but these new friendships can empathize as well. They are risk takers and business owners themselves. They know what it is like to have your employees be dependent on you, to have everything on the line from leveraging real estate and lines of credit, to spending all your savings, to have pressures from venture capitalists and the complexities of legal contracts. They know what it is to hire and fire. To strategize knowing failure is no option. They know what it is to lose friendships and have family question your life. They know what it is to feel alone just the same as they know the joy it is to have your company featured in a periodical or TV show. They know what it is to close a major deal. They know what it is to be Magic.
I have the blessing of having all these wonderful people in my “neighborhood” to see at any time… I just want to say thank you.
For a little LA Tech smiles and gossip check out Lalawag and for some of the most down to earth and informative business upstart videos go to Mixergy.
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdlasica
Without each other we’ve got nothing right? I’ve never been happier than I have over the last year and I think we can all say we’re blessed that we all wound up in the crazy city together.
-Jeff
….in THIS crazy city….
it’s Saturday, I’m allowed to mistype
We’re lucky to have you here Espree.