Florence, Founding, and Focus
Reflections on turning 31
Last week I turned 31.
The past year has been one of significant change for me.
My professional and personal direction shifted a lot. I turned 30 away from family for the first time, with a new group of friends, in a new place, with a new focus.
Since that point, I have been working on my entrepreneurial ambitions - which I can see becoming an obsession. Most conversations now, happily, seem to revolve around memory.
I was lucky to spend my birthday in Florence with my mother.
A long weekend of sun-struck piazzas, truffle pasta, red wine, and an overwhelming volume of Renaissance art.
I was slightly distracted all weekend, though.
Reflecting on the movements I have made, what the coming years might hold for me, and whether I was proud of the things I had done in the past year.
The flourishing beauty of Fra Angelico’s work, the physical reminders of the success of the Medici throughout Florence, and the sheer volume of creative work proved a fertile breeding ground for my whirring thoughts.
A few ideas have lingered with me after that weekend away from my normal surroundings. Reflections on Florence, Founding, and Focus.
Florence
Life is more fulfilling with a blend of the active and the contemplative
One of the ideas that emerged from the Renaissance was that one can be more fulfilled by having both an active and contemplative part of your life. The ‘Renaissance Man’ can simultaneously reflect on spirituality, and enjoy art while being actively engaged in commerce.
Stepping away from the bubble of Harvard Business School, and the glorious franticness of pre-Christmas celebrations at home in the UK - a few days in Florence gave me a new perspective.
Often, quite rightly, we are pushing all the time to get the next milestone - heavily influenced by our surroundings - whether it be the competitive environment of HBS, YC founders spouting on LinkedIn, or the lists predicting the future from VCs at this time of year.
For me, taking in some new surroundings, and re-appreciating my love for the ancient and the aesthetic reminded me of my differentiators.
I am not your standard tech bro, and that is part of my gift.
I am bringing a different perspective to the growing challenge of how we interact with our memories - a perspective that is influenced by the personal and the historical.
Holding onto this differentiator and having confidence in it, when you are surrounded by achievements of others following a more traditional path around you, can be difficult.
Changing location enabled me to remember what will differentiate me from my peers and enable me to build the business that I know I can.
I think we can all benefit in this type of change of gear, of shifting between a bias for action and a bias for reflection, both have their place, and together they are much stronger.
Founding
Having agency takes courage
Marsilio Ficino reflected on what he had learnt from Cosimo di Medici - ‘Plato only showed me the idea of courage, Cosimo showed it to me every day’.
This courage is shown through having agency over one’s actions.
It takes courage to make decisions that have real impact for you or for your business.
It takes courage to realize that in so doing missteps are often public.
Agency also means that your mind is often elsewhere.
I remember when I was Chief of Staff or when I was running Edinburgh Cycle Hire: holidays didn’t really exist. I was often distracted while doing other things.
My distraction in Florence is different, though.
I want to be distracted. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to be distracted.
Perhaps, most powerfully, if I actually focus on the things that I perceive to be distractions - enjoying myself, being with family, looking at frescoes, or drinking nice wine - I find even better opportunities for the business to distract me.
Memories are all around me, aesthetic inspiration for product development is in every sight I see, and at the very least most of my everyday experiences offer future blog post opportunities!
Agency means that I choose to spend time working on the business, rather than feeling that I have to be on a call on the weekend to keep my job.
It is a very different form of pressure and stress - one which I think I am lucky to have, rather than seeing it as a burden. Certainly, that is how I am reframing it in my mind.
Focus
Hard work and focus can solve most of life’s problems
Focus at the right time, combined with obsessive hard work and dedication can push through most walls, in most things.
It’s a formula I have often used and seems to be effective. The one area where the exception proves the rule is affairs of the heart!
In romantic intentions focussed hard work can have the opposite effect to what one desires…
My obsessive focus paired with a work ethic that has tolerance for the extreme is one of the reasons I am in the position to be able to found a business today. It also potentially explains why I’m still single!
The challenge for the solo founder is this could easily lead to burnout or complete spontaneous combustion. I have little rituals that keep me on track on a weekly basis such as reading, seeing friends, or going to the gym.
What I realize after my birthday sojourn to Florence is that regular changes of location, forced periods of perceived lower productivity, and varying stimuli for our brains also help in ensuring that we are at our best.
Perhaps these Florentine-inspired perspectives are what we all need as we consider the year that has passed and prepare for what 2026 holds.