John and I took most of the company to Whistler this week to celebrate and to plan. About half of us brought partners and families. I’m grateful that Jardum has let us shift the conversation from work/life balance to work/life blur.
As a high school senior, when people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d say “retired at 30.” A few family members and childhood friends like to point out that I’m past 40 and still working. Then I read an interview with Gabe Newell (founder of Valve), who still works seven days a week and says he’s been retired for a long time because retirement, to him, means quitting the job you hate to go do the thing you’d choose anyway.
So I’m going to say I missed my goal by one year. I retired 10 years ago and have been chasing a dream ever since.
There are too many colleagues, customers, partners, and friends to name who helped us get here. But I give the same speech at every strategic planning session: our wives and our families are the real investors in Jardum. They let us take the risk, 75% pay cuts, paused 401ks and 529s, a second mortgage. We’re still paying them back, and this week in Whistler was a small down payment.
The next 10 years look a lot like the last: intentionally small and scrappy, curious, innovative. Developing interns into engineering leaders. Coming alongside manufacturers to help, empower, and enable.
I’m already retired. I’m not chasing a big payday. I’m here to solve cool problems with cool people for the foreseeable future.
