Unsolicited advice
As I write this, I’m brushing the side of Douala as we take to the South Atlantic (Ed.: I failed to format and send this until now, about five days later, oops), on one of the more unique long-haul flights I’ve taken: Dubai to Sao Paolo. In just over a week into my wandering, I’ve:
…eaten an extraordinary meal at the new Noma. Rene Redezepi told us exactly the same tale about foxes that he told the LA Times. (Having had to sell the same thing earnestly many times—aka fundraise—myself, I sympathize). Copenhagen, you were charming but cold!
… camped (glamped, really, given our guides even went so far as to make fresh scrambled eggs in the morning) in The Empty Quarter, the world’s largest sand dessert. The desert is so surprisingly soft and silent, like an endless brown blanket fell on to the hills.
… had my preconceptions about Dubai shaken by actually experiencing it.(Thanks, Will!). There is more entrepreneurship and culture than photos of the wild skyline-about all we know of Dubai in the US-would have you think.
Now I’m off to Brazil, for two weeks of intensive language courses to get my Portuguese beyond its current basics and see what the startup scene there is like.

(Not a stock photo!)
Chef Rene Redzepi’s celebrated restaurant Noma restarts in a new space in Copenhagen. The New Nordic cuisine is a dream you can eat.
Writing careers
Before I left New York, I found myself giving a lot of advice to former Beme team members who were figuring out what next to do in their careers. I have pointedly decided not to figure out this question for myself yet, and the irony and privilege is not lost on me.
The theme I found myself returning to in every conversation was how important it is to effectively tell the story of your career and how often engineers I’ve interviewed or worked with neglect this. With a story, the next chapter us necessary. With a resume, the next job simply folks in the blank on a form.
Told poorly, my own story looks like random leaps from contemporary art lackey to the second tech hire of a fashion magazine to a weird little blogging service to a startup studio to founding a company with some YouTuber. Many of these leaps may have had a bit of randomness to them, sure. But told as I tell it, starting Beme was a necessary next chapter, just as whatever I do next will be.
Most importantly, as I help former Bemers, forwarding a resume, making an introduction, I lead with a story of a person and their career. The only way for people you know to help you get what you want or near it is to distill that story down so you and they can share it again and again and again. The story can be in constant flux, edited for each new person or opportunity, but simply having it is an extraordinary competitive advantage.
I’m working on a piece with a bunch of tactical advice on how to define and land the ideal next opportunity as an engineer, but it seemed worth sharing this small nugget to this list, which I’m sure counts no small number of folks in career transition.
Early plot developments for me
The other power of having a story is that it prevents you from being molded into the stories others project on you.
When I left Tumblr in 2012, there was essentially only one question all professional conversations reduced to: “What kind of company are you going to start?” Right now, an alarming number of people in my position are out raising small venture funds, so half of conversations are “Are you going to raise a fund?” To do that without knowing why it fits uniquely into my story would be a recipe for a disaster. (Which is not to say that I wouldn’t ever do it, dear future LPs out there!)
In my now-five weeks of wandering, I’ve already been gifted two thoughts about where my own story ought to go. Each one made my mind click instantly with the pleasure of a clue found.
1. The OG Beme investor, when I told him I was going to be exploring widely this year, admonished me not to wander too far from the problems I know well in social media. He put is succinctly: “You’re uniquely positioned with one foot in pop culture and one foot in technology. Few in either industry can say that.” Indeed, this is the thread that ties together my career most closely, that makes sense of my liberal arts degree and dabblings in art and fashion worlds.
2. Meeting (via Twitter first, of course) a writer and investor in Copenhagen with whom had surprisingly many mutual connections: Some Germans I had met in 2012 when there for a couple months pondering a move to Berlin post-Tumblr, some Swedes I knew through NYC tech companies. The clue here was that I have an unusually global network, in part because I’m always thrilled to hop on a plane.
I don’t know what these clues add up to yet. I’m still collecting more. But it’s insttructive that they both came out in conversation. As an engineer and by disposition, my default is to attempt to figure out everything in my head. I chart the perfect course before talking about where I’m going with anyone. This is wildly ineffective, thus me forcing myself go out to the world with what little I know and ask for help. This newsletter is part of that necessary opening up, so thank you for reading and replying.
What I’ve been reading
From Bubble to Bubble – Sahil Lavingia
The founder of Gumroad tells a very different kind of “leaving San Francisco” story. Provo, UT is not your typical next move, nor is the depth that Sahel finds there.
I’m definitely the type to arrive at the airport as late as possible, but Craig takes a very different approach to travel I’m trying to live a little more.
Book: The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
I just finished this gorgeous novel. A stranger, an actual alien, arrives on a wintry planet and tries alone to bridge his culture and its. LeGuin is so much more than “sci-if” and I’m mad at myself for not picking her up until now.
By Matt Hackett
I'm an entrepreneur and engineer, currently in exploration mode. Subscribe to follow along.
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