Why This, Why Now

The older I get, the more I can’t shake the feeling that too much of the world is fake.

Politicians lie. Corporations deceive. Influencers curate personas optimized for engagement above all, with authenticity a foreign concept. We all, on occasion, notice the lies and deception…then quickly forget about it and move on.

Everyone’s selling something, but very few are building something real or sharing their real unfiltered selves.

I’ve built startups from the ground up, raised over $100 million in venture capital, and led teams that generated more than $250 million in revenue. That experience broke something in me and rebuilt something else.

Something sharper.

More honest.

Less concerned with appearances and more interested in truth, risk, creativity, and resilience.

Not My Side Hustle is my attempt to carve out a space where we talk about real things: building, creating, writing, investing, failing, recovering, and starting again. And the frustrating feelings that surface, inescapably, through it all.

This isn’t a highlight reel.

It’s a creative lab, business journal, wonky house of deep-research and weird experiments, and sometimes a quiet scream into the void.

What kind of community I’m building here

This is for the builders, the creatives, the founders, the burned-out overachievers, the underachievers who want more, and the misfits who still believe they can make something that matters…regardless of what their past says.

It’s for people who ask better questions.

Who try, fail, and keep trying.

Who want to build companies, watch sports, drink beer, enjoy broadway plays, and write novels. Balance professional ambition and ADHD-driven side quests. Those who want to question everything they’ve been taught and learn things they’d never imagined. Who want realness in a world optimized for shallow engagement.

This won’t be a newsletter for everyone. But if the phrase “not my side hustle” feels like a quiet rebellion or mantra you can get behind…you’re in the right place.

What to expect

I’ll be publishing 1–2 times per week, with content focused on the intersection of business, creativity, and personal reinvention.

Ideas & Insights

• How different people build wealth (not just the Silicon Valley way)

• Lessons from obscure books, public domain texts, and timeless thinkers

• Breakdowns of what’s working, and what’s not, in startups and storytelling

Behind the Curtain

• Building of a media company from scratch

• My process for launching an eventual VC fund

• Unfiltered thoughts on startup culture, capital allocation, and creativity

Stories & Writing

• First drafts, experiments, and serialized short stories

• Screenwriting lessons from the trenches

• How AI is changing the way we create content and build companies

Anticipate a combination of the below

• Weekly essays and deep dives

• Project updates and frameworks

• Monthly unfiltered strategy memos

• Early access to scripts, books, and experiments

• Creative feedback opportunities + behind-the-scenes peeks

One more thing

I don’t have it all figured out; not even close. This isn’t a polished brand and I’m not pretending it is.

It’s a creative sandbox. A digital garage.

A space for real ideas, shamefully true thoughts, and work that’s half-baked, fully-formed, or somewhere in between…all built in public.

I’ve raised capital from investors. Closed big enterprise deals. Generated meaningful revenue. I’ve launched products used by millions of people. Won awards. Been featured in articles. And yet, with every milestone hit, there was this strange, empty feeling…like the recognition didn’t match the reality. Like I hadn’t really earned it and was undeserving.

Now, I want to build something that feels personal. And alive.

I want to create, and share, a journey that runs counter to today’s obsession with vanity and perfection. A place where my failures become your shortcuts, and any wins we earn, we earn together.

Thanks for reading. Let’s see where this goes.