Hey Jude
A song for Kiva. A song of happiness. A song of gratitude. A song that matters.
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I sit here, on the ever so familiar airplane seat. Constrained and uncomfortable. A happy place, as I disconnect from the world for 90 minutes and write. I stare at the blank page. Go.
I’m on my way to Kiva’s 20 year anniversary. It will involve great conversation. Reconnections and shared memories. Some disc golf. And some sloppy karaoke.
My five years at Kiva served as my graduation into real life. The bulk of my 20s. Those years were so incredibly impactful on the person that I am today.
I was living in the great unknown. Out there in the world having fun. Everything was fluid. Friendships and fun and work and San Francisco all seemed to exist in harmony.
In the midst of the “great renaissance of the tech industry”. I chose the lowest paying job of all my friends. I left the “prestige” of LinkedIn and picked to work for free. Money was a true side note. Living with extreme frugality, in the most expensive city in the country at that time. A fridge full of PBR and the $2 PBR pints at the Tempest was all I needed. It was a blessing to figure out the extremely low salary and expensive city. It paved the way for easy living and a frugal approach to life when the money eventually came. I’m proud that my first six figure year was at the age of 33.
I learned that “helping people” was the primary engine of happiness in professional life. My time at Kiva snowballed into a fruitful seven years at Wefunder. A professional identity. Rooted in impact. A foundation of confidence in what I do for work. I didn’t know it at the time, but with hindsight, Kiva was the foundation I was building for the rest of my professional life.
You are a bi product of the people you spend time with. This was certainly the most important piece of the puzzle. The people.
I found my most important mentors. Jonny and Matt continue to be the North Star of what success looks like in life. I found my most important friend. Suz became the definition of friendship. And the homies created an energy vortex of positivity — Jesse, Mike, Taylor, Anne.
And the extended homies seem to be endless. To this day, ten years later, I have so many Kiva connections circle into my work at Wefunder. A network of (literally) hundreds of former colleagues, interns, fellows, borrowers, trustees, fans, and friends of Kiva in this extended orbit that continues to circle around me.
I’m extremely grateful for this community that influenced me so deeply. Never in my life will I have another Kiva. To have that deep influence, that spanned all areas of my life, is a gift that I treasure.
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Some musings from that time:
Hard to believe I lived on PBR for like 10 years. I think the only drink I ever bought was a PBR. I never tried a glass of wine. Never ordered a cocktail. PBR only. The quantity of hangouts at the Tempest was insane. It feels like it was 3-4 times a week. What a fucking establishment.
I loved walking Blu to and from work. I had that obnoxious vape pen. I was one with the TL. It shaped me too. Cigs with the locals. Good memories.
I fondly remember Blu making her rounds in the office. And hanging in the conference room with me. And the supporting cast of other dogs. Great vibes.
I miss Martin. He had a huge impact on me. We've lost touch. He was an important mentor for me in those months before Chill Charters. Chelsa too. She was always so encouraging to me. I remember her words to this day.
The fucking icing of interns. Having that be my only HR violation (officially) is hilarious to me. The late night ragers in that office. The pregames to shows. The "let's get blacked out before karoke" celebration at the end of a very long fellows week. Those were all epic nights.
The partner trips to Kenya and Hawaii. Seeing Matt and DJ start Branch. Hanging at the beach with Martin before we were both set to quit. All the borrowers and partners and exposure to the world. Incredibly impactful.
The founder visits. The travel. The speed at which I would raise my hand to travel around the country. Month long trips and week long trips and single day trips. The intensity of energy that I had. I wish I still had that.
Interns. MORE! Mike: Sure. Everyone else: NO. Me: MORE. The countless interviews with me and Suz fucking off in the conference rooms. Can you work for free? Can you work in the office for 6 months? Are you cool? YOU'RE HIRED! MORE! Then you layer in fellows and "advisors". At one point I swear we had 30 freebies hanging on our team. It was so awesome.
All of the Kiva Cities. Jonny kissing me on the lips. Bill Clinton and I playing Settlers of Catan.
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Some musings from my blogs and books from 2012-2017 —
I consider Stay Positive to be my first stab at entrepreneurship -- and that inspiration led me to Kiva. Something about the entrepreneurship coupled with the energy and intention of the brand -- the stars aligned and that was a huge deal at that time. Another very positive inflection point.
(November 2014) I’m officially the Program Manager. Fuck yeah. All this work at Kiva for 2 1/2 years was for this role and I'm proud of myself. I did it.
Mi Me Tuleah - I'm Chillin (in swahili). The highlight of my day was at a cyber cafe shop in Nairobi, the owner was fundraising on Kiva and I pulled up her profile and made her a loan. Her face lit up.
I was picked up by Chuck and he took me on a tour of the Mississippi Delta. It was my first experience in rural America. We visited small businesses and I saw a completely different way of living. It’s a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life. And it was a trip that sparked a deep love for the South.
Making no money and living life in a perpetual state of immaturity (long live the days of icing interns, HR violations, and slap shots). Hustling every day to help the small guys. Delivering a dose of encouragement in the ever so vulnerable early days of starting a company. Idealistic and naive in the world we were living in. But wanting to just "help people" as a way to spend our time. I am proud of what we accomplished.