LEAVING TECH TO PURSUE MUSIC: Silicon Valley Taught Me To 'Keep Goin'

My recent decision to leave my 9-5 to finally pursue my lifelong passion for music was heavily influenced by years of Silicon Valley grooming. Between Stanford graduate school and roles in the startup/tech space I had the opportunity to work with, live with, and befriend some of the most intelligent and courageous visionaries who helped shape my perspective on entrepreneurship, growth journeys, and failure.   

I was blessed to be part of the epitome of a Silicon Valley success story, when Wildfire Interactive was acquired by Google, and I saw an incredible founding team (led by the brilliant and always inspiring Victoria Ransom and Alain Chuard) reap the rewards for relentless pursuit of a vision while operating with integrity and transparency. I witnessed some of my best friends and roommates grind to start and maintain businesses from scratch in the face of uncertainty and frequent failure and I learned from their experiences the beauty of the struggle, the value of the growth journey, and the unmatched reward for working hard to accomplish lofty goals. I learned to question paradigms and to challenge the status quo - and that paths to "success" are infinitely diverse with consistent themes of risk, hard work, creativity, and a trusted support system. And the scrappy and optimistic spirit of Silicon Valley is in everything I do.

I don't know exactly where this journey is going to end up, and mistakes and disappointments are inevitable, but I am committed to creating a music product of value that positively impacts the lives of those who hear my music. Sound to-market strategies and scalability are certainly on my mind, but developing an authentic offering that touches lives is paramount. I believe in my ability to create that kind of music and that kind of live experience. I have a big vision for this, and even though I am just getting started, I am incredibly grateful for the journey to this point. 

Along the way I'll be sharing my growth, and if even a single life is touched by what I create then I truly believe I am fulfilling my God-given purpose on this earth...though touching a few million lives would be nice as well ;-). #SING