Focus op de weg

Good afternoon.

This week has been incredibly exciting for me. Between the beauty of the leaves changing colour, Leyoda (my startup), momentumclub (a network I founded for entrepreneurs + heavy hitters in underserved cities), university, START Maastricht work and more, I have been constantly working, and constantly bombarded with more information and ideas to chew on.

I am addicted to the feeling of success and the energy that I get when working together with like-minded people on a project. Plus, the ideation and early-stages of a business are always so much fun, even if the work is the hardest.

Nevertheless, I’ve been talking to others and thinking to myself about how to maintain focus, and despite my lack of official work-life balance, as long as work energises me and still provides me with social connection, I think that I’ll be alright.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be focussed on getting our MVP out and building a proper company culture for Leyoda, getting a proper plan and team together to expand momentumclub, and more. University will also have to take a front seat for a few weeks for exams, and I have driving lessons, the NT2 exam to study for, and my responsibilities as a scout.

Also, I’m turning 20 next week, which one might perhaps view arbitrarily, but it isn’t exactly a small deal either.

I’ll finally reach the age where people have enough respect for you for being in your 20s, but also still blabber on about how you haven’t done anything proper yet and you need to work for free still, and, “it’s a no from me”.

I’ll write another post about that, and I fear that this is perhaps one of the lesser-engaging posts that I’ve shared so far.

Anyway, to provide you with some value, and more than just an update about my life, here are some things that I’ll be doing/have already done to ensure that I meet my personal + business quarterly KPIs:

1. Study German at least 1 hour everyday.

   1. This involves Babbel, the language learning app; watching German TV/listening to the radio, and attending German classes.

2. Study Dutch for the NT2 exam

3. Ensure that company culture flows the right way. For Leyoda I’m:

   1. Prioritising a “fail-fast” mentality, with lots of iteration (not pivots) along the way

   2. Ensuring that I understand the team culturally

      1. We’re a multicultural team. A Brit, a Greek, a Romanian, a Pole and a Dane. Even subscribed to the same ideas, our personalities will naturally be different and there will of course be some occasions with slight culture shocks. I’m implementing weekly check-ins with the whole team, personality/culture tests, and sharing my thoughts. I want open communication, honesty, and no fear-based boundaries.

      2. We’re small right now, but this will really matter as we grow.

   3. Showing that I’m working hard too, and we’re all in it together.

4. Make sure I keep up with university with scheduled study time and team collaboration

5. Daily coffee, walks, and brainstorming sessions.

   1. These all help keep me sane, and especially the brainstorming sessions are important. It’s usually when I have my best ideas. I go for a walk alone, with quiet or no music, and observe the world. People watching, listening to all of my senses. Pretty quickly, I’ll start writing things down and working everything out in my head.

It may seem like a lot of things, but so far I’m feeling pretty good about it all. I should probably sleep a little more though…

Anyway, stay focussed, and have a lovely week.

See you soon!

-Alex