I’m Leaving TechStars to _____

Longs Peak, 8/9/08

I posted on Monday that I am in fact leaving Techstars after four years of hanging around the program shouting “oh lala, gogogo, that looks great, you did what? congrats! you owe me for coffee.” on repeat.  It has been a real journey.  A quality adventure.  An amazing experience.

I am thankful.

It comes with a very heavy heart to leave, which I will do after the Boulder Demo Day this year.

I’m going to spend the next year or so off.

My current plan is in this order:

  • TechStars Boulder Demo Day (August 5th)
  • TEDxBoulder (tickets still available here) (August 7th)
  • Ironman Boulder 70.3 (August 8th)
  • Ignite Boulder 12 (September 2nd)
  • Ironman Arizona (November 21st)
  • Travel to South America, Africa, Asia with an unknown end date (Starting December 10th-ish)

This whole experience of TechStars and Boulder (where I have lived for almost seven years) have been near perfect.  I’ve learned.  I’ve grown. I’ve helped.

To answer some questions:

  • TechStars is fantastic, absolutely nothing bad to say about them. Class act, amazing people doing the world a huge amount of good.
  • IgniteBoulder, boulder.me, and TEDxBoulder will live on without me, the committees are going to kick ass like they usually do.  The Boulder community is amazing and will step up and fill any void with ease.
  • I don’t know how long I’m going to travel.  I’ve had a booked schedule since 3rd grade, so having something open like this is very, very scary.
  • I wanted to work on pick.im fulltime, but an intervention by a ton of my friends pushed me to travel, and I am grateful.
  • I think I will come back to Boulder, but am honestly unsure.  Life is comfortable and amazing here, might need to find some adventure elsewhere.

My big ask:

If you were to go out for an adventure, what would it be?

If you wanted to travel, to create a learning and amazing journey, how would you plan it?

What are wilderness areas that should not be missed?

If you know of any resources/ trips / groups doing good that need help please let me know.  [email protected] or leave it in the comments.

I’m busy planning and training.  Drop a note if you want to meet up or say hi before I take off.

Edward Abbey said it pretty well:

One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive.

I took a 50 day Outward Bound course at the end of High School.  A participant said “the definition of adventure is the outcome is unknown.”

This outcome is unknown, and I’m looking forward to that.


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

66 responses to “I’m Leaving TechStars to _____”

  1. andrewhyde Avatar
    andrewhyde

    Thanks! On my list now!

  2. andrewhyde Avatar
    andrewhyde

    Thanks! Going to be interesting.

  3. andrewhyde Avatar
    andrewhyde

    I've been to Zion twice, both in the winter during storms that never let up, so I just saw the clouds.

    Great idea!

  4. andrewhyde Avatar
    andrewhyde

    Welcome to town!

  5. andrewhyde Avatar
    andrewhyde

    or the first step of destruction!

  6. andrewhyde Avatar
    andrewhyde

    Chris and Curtis are going to continue to work and improve the product. I will do international testing 🙂

  7. andrewhyde Avatar
    andrewhyde

    I really want to travel with a big old camera but don't want to have to deal with theft / worrying about it!

  8. CampSteve Avatar

    My roots too! I actually tracked down and hiked to the plot of land that used to be my great great grandfather's farm, now just wilderness area. There were ruins of an old stone farmhouse.

    The town of Voss is an outdoor lovers paradise much like some of Colorado's great mountain towns, but with Scandinavian flavor. And there are great, scenic stretches of road along the coasts of the Lofoten Islands which make for great cycle touring! Not to mention the history and urban cultures of Oslo and Bergen. Norway is one of the best countries I've visited.

    Seed planted. You'll created great experiences wherever you go!

  9. Ken Yeung Avatar

    I know what you mean…I'd be worried about it too. Maybe try and get a point & shoot that'll be a good in-between…like the G10 or something like that. With all your traveling, it's best to pack light…especially if you're out at night.

  10. virtuallybing Avatar
    virtuallybing

    Forgot to mention – I spent a short time on the southern coast of Spain recently. It was the first time I've returned from an international trip with the feeling “I've got to go back immediately” (as opposed to “I'll go back someday, after I've visited other places”). Loved the slower pace, laid back culture, fresh seafood.

  11. cschultz Avatar

    Andrew, congratulations. While I'm sure this decision is a hard one, it is a brave one, and one that you won't regret. You've had such an impact on so many things, and they will live on. I can't wait to see what you come back inspired to do.

    This jaunt will fill volumes, I hope you keep us updated from time to time on your adventures. But at the same time disconnect.

    My favs: Kenya, Zimbabwe, India (Kerala), Iceland, Russia, argentina, and of course, please visit us in New Orleans.

    Good luck!

  12. Zach Daudert Avatar

    Congratulations! Sounds like an amazing adventure awaits. You should check out Panama – it's a wonderful country that is underrated compared to more traditional/touristy destinations like Costa Rica.

  13. Kynthia Avatar

    this is an excellent post and an excellent idea and i wish you the best on your continuing journey. if i were leaving the country right now and had funds for a while, i'd go to portugal, then greece, then consider a trip to the holy land if i found the right opportunity, then aim for southeast asia but be willing to be diverted, then oz, then argentina, and then i might not come home. 🙂

    stay in hostels and ask the people who are traveling right now, not just us fools.

    couchsurf.

    keep us updated and remain open to receiving guidance in real-time, for those unknown moments.

    i'ma be in colorado for the last couple weeks of august building a wagon to take to burning man so that i can be a mobile employment agency. i imagine i will be consuming a lot of coffee in the process. i'll email you.

  14. SteveO Avatar

    Best wishes in all you do, my friend! Keep us posted as you make the unknown, known.

  15. Luc Castera Avatar

    I met a guy while travelling South America that was doing this. He was making a group dance video everywhere he stopped. I thought it was a great idea. Here is the one we did in Mendoza, Argentina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QP7iJSzN0Y

    Andrew, I highly recommend Argentina as a place to stop. So many beautiful places to visit from Buenos Aires: in particular Mendoza (the Aconcagua) and Iguazu Falls.

    Also, have you read 'Vagabonding' by Rolf Potts? It's a great travelling book.

  16. Suzan Avatar
    Suzan

    We will miss you. And…I'm so thrilled for you to be vagabonding for a while. You'll have so many new tales to tell and experiences to cherish.

    Morocco is a must! The food is amazing, it's totally crazy, you'll get lost in the souks and find yourself over and over again. A place I will return again and again.

    If you head towards Asia Bhutan is supposed to be an amazing place. Very well preserved culturally too because the country has limited tourism. It's on my “must” list.

Leave a Reply