Because it’s the end of a decade, it’s the perfect time to really reflect on what’s happened. I think thinking of every year as a lesson really solidifies and brings a bit more meaning in your life. 10 years ago, I was 18 years old and was about to start college. A lot has changed, and I still remember every year vividly because a lot of things happened. By writing it down, it helps me relive these thoughts and I can be more grateful for the life I have.
This is partially inspired by Kim from Peas On Moss’ article about her year in 2019 but I think it’s important to reflect not only this year, but the whole decade. If you reflect and reminisce memories, it makes them more substantial. Looking back on the key highlights of every year, I’ve learned something important that I’d like to share with you. One lesson for each year.
Perhaps this might inspire you to sit down and think about the important lessons you’ve learned throughout the decade. It might help you realize just how far you’ve come.
2010: I googled food+science and read a Wikipedia article about food science. I didn’t know what it was and applied to college with it as my major of choice. I enjoyed cooking but I hated the culinary class I took at my community college. My grades were also pretty good. I got rejected from my first choice college and I thought my life was over. I never did a college tour and I only applied to 3 schools. Once I visited Cal Poly, I was excited and anxious to go. College allowed me to change myself and I tried to be social but I was still known as the kid who played a bunch of computer games. I didn’t like my roommates and I had to find ways to not be in that room all the time so I joined a lot of college clubs.
Lesson: Moving to a new place with little expectation allows you to change in so many different ways.
2011: I started taking more responsibility in clubs and realized you have to be well-liked for things to work. This was a huge growing pain but after being bombarded with working with so many groups of people, I got used to it. I had like, 3 club officer positions, did product development competitions, got a job as the Multicultural Center Program Coordinator, worked in the Food Science Pilot Plant, and a bunch of other stuff I don’t remember. I worked with a lot of people and my arrogance and stubbornness was hacked away because of it.
Lesson: Generally, you have to be likable to be workable.
2012: I lead stuff. I never thought of myself as a leader but I lead stuff anyway. Partially because I wanted to, partially because there was no one else for the job. Captain of the Lion Dance Team, team leader of product development competitions, head of a food committee for some event and other things. I started seeing results. I won a bunch of awards for doing stuff. I established some interesting cultural goals that have still stood to this day. This was a hard year because so much was going on but it’s a year I cherish fondly. Being in a leadership position allowed me to understand the value of people when it comes to getting things done. My style wasn’t for everyone. I had to play bad cop a lot. I’m still working on it.
Lesson: To get things done, sometimes you have to lead.
2013: I did a ton of job interviews and no bites. I looked great on paper but was always passed up. My professor gave me some great advice on tailoring not just your resume, but your cover letter and interview to that job. One example is an interview with the Tomato factory. I was told about the five pillars of something and the hiring manager quizzed me on them. I got it right and he liked me. After my professor’ advice, I got two job offers. I was able to leverage both offers to get a higher salary. I chose to go to Phoenix.
Oh, I also graduated but that’s not super important.
Lesson: To get what you want, do your research and be immersed in your knowledge basis.
2014: I moved to Phoenix. I had to go to Quebec for training so my dad drove my car to Phoenix and set up everything when I flew into Sky Harbor. It was hot in Phoenix. This factory was brand new. The people were new, the machinery was new, and it was a tough job because every day, something went terribly wrong. Product-wise, mechanical, you name it, everything went wrong and I had to be the expert. Overall, it was the most impactful experience I’ve ever had in my life. I tried to escape and that’s where I found out that you could make money without a job. I consumed a lot of podcasts and video training courses but I lost a lot of money that year.
Lesson: Working in the factory gave me respect and admiration about those who make your food and where it comes from. Most of your food comes from unsafe neighborhoods with people who might have dropped out of high school. I’m very fortunate to have moved on from there, but I’ll never forget that no matter the struggles of getting funding or arguing with marketing, it’s a much better place to be than on the factory floor in my opinion.
2015: My grandpa died and after researching about how he moved from China to the United States and did multiple entrepreneurial businesses to raise four successful families who are living amazing lives, I realized that money comes and goes so I got back to finding ways to make money. What might matter more than money are the people you impact. That kicked my entrepreneurial game to full gear. I was ready to try again.
I started a new job at Isagenix at the end of the year and it was really comfortable. It was a dream job in a way because I had friendly, well-dressed colleagues and free food every week. I had a lot of friends thanks to managing a meetup group.
Lesson: Money comes and goes. It’s just as easy to gain money as it is to lose money.
2016: I started a podcast called My Food Job Rocks and all I did was interview my industry friends. You all know that story. I also somehow lost all of my friends in Phoenix and got into a deep depression. My Food Job Rocks anchored me to talking to people. Even random strangers. The more stories I heard about people loving their jobs, the more I was able to enjoy my job.
Career-wise, my growth exploded. The CSO at the time put me under his wing and I forced myself to go into meetings that were really brutal but that was important because it helped me break out of just one role, to someone who could do the whole process. From ideation to commercialization.
Lesson: Being around like-minded, inspiring people can save your life. You can find them everywhere if you just ask for help.
2017: As the podcast grew and actually made money, my interest in entrepreneurship grew. I attended more entrepreneur meetups and made a handful of friends. I also reconnected with the friends I’ve forgotten. I bought a house and started hosting small get-togethers. I deep-fried a turkey in my backyard. I was starting to establish roots again and it felt great but something in me wanted more. It was a good year of just rebuilding and settling down.
Lesson: You can always start something again. It might take work, but that’s the fun of it.
2018: After I interviewed Paul Shapiro, he asked me to help him start a company and without much thought, I accepted the challenge. Though I was starting to feel comfortable in Phoenix, starting a company was a dream and weighing the options, it would be less risky working with Paul than doing something on my own so I moved to Sacramento and we got to work. With just three people and a lot of money, we were able to create several products and strike some game-changing deals. In hindsight, I had it easy. We got funding painlessly (compared to my colleagues) and the product was something that I had mastered for years.
Lesson: Hedge your bets, understand what you’re good at, find other people who are good at other things and go for it. Rationalize and understand risks. You get better the more risks you take. It’s a muscle.
2019: Better Meat Co pivoted technologies and I felt like my work was done. In hindsight, this happens a lot with CTO-esque roles and I was fine with it. That’s why nobody cares about who the CTO of a company is. They usually keep on changing. We had a lot of formulas so you just needed someone who could replicate the process. It’d be hard to find an innovator, but that’s not what they needed at that point. I was also doing the podcast which grew and grew and as BMC became a more established company, I couldn’t be as free as I wanted to so I decided to try and do the podcast full time. Surprisingly, I made a lot of money consulting but it was super stressful. On a whim, I saw an opening for WeWork’s Food Labs, asked my now-boss if I was a good fit, he said yes and applied for the SF position and they asked me to move to Austin with a better salary (cost of living wise) and a great relocation package. So at the end of the year, I decided to move to Austin.
I needed the change.
Lesson: Change doesn’t scare me anymore. Goals don’t matter to me anymore. Life is terrible and beautiful at the same time and the more you go through the cycles, the more you realize just how interesting the world is.
On to 2020: I wish I could tell you what I expect to happen in 2020 but I can’t. Maybe there’s something hidden among a job where I can oversee and advise multiple food industry startups and understand the players in the Austin food scene. Who knows?
What I want is the new year to be less dynamic. I’ve always told people “don’t just stand there, do something” but I think now it’s time to do the opposite. Don’t do something, just stand there.
But knowing me, I’m not one to stand around.