And here are a few of the songs that will forever remind me of this time period:
We’re now in Bogota, Colombia. Happy New Year and thanks for following along with my travels. If you want to get periodic update emails from me that serve as a recap of the highlights, add yourself below:
Seven months ago I packed my life into two suitcases and left for an adventure called “Remote Year.” Since that time I’ve traveled to twelve countries
(
Czech Repulbic, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, England, Germany, Portugal, Morocco, Spain, Ireland and Mexico) and seen over thirty cities. Contrary to appearances it hasn’t been a vacation – I’ve been working this whole time and have actually increased my revenue numbers for Pagely 44% since being abroad. As I sit now in the Mexico City airport waiting for my flight back home to Phoenix to visit friends and family for Christmas, I figured now is an opportune time to recap some of the travels and lessons for those who want to keep up with my unfolding life path.
In every city I’ve made it a habit to do a brief narrated walking video to share observations and a look at the local experience. I’ve linked to the respective videos for each city below if you want to drill in and get more resolution on any of these places:
Prague in June was our launch point. If Disneyland were a city in Eastern Europe Prague would be it: tall pointy buildings, immaculate cobblestone streets, beautiful parks, a workspace that was a gorgeous remodeled embassy… Prague was a fairy tale our first month. While Phoenix was sweltering in 115deg temperatures Prague was a temperate 70deg. Highly recommend as a summer vacation destination.
Belgrade in
July retaliated for the mild temps we saw in Prague. I had no idea what to expect going into Serbia (honestly I pictured this scene from Eurotrip). Belgrade surprised me with it’s bustle and energy. It had rough edges with admittedly odd remnants of post-communist country but it was a fascinating place with wonderful people. Learning about the NATO bombings from their perspective reminded me that every coin has two sides and that it’s incumbent upon us to constantly seek and evaluate that 2nd side of the coin for perspective.
London in August was a cultural rest stop from the slavic language barrier we experienced the first two months. Our original destination this month was to have been Istanbul, Turkey but RY called an audible and rerouted us to London given the unrest there. Weeks prior to us being in London the airport in Turkey was bombed. While we were all looking forward to Istanbul we respected RY’s decision and were thankful for the eye to personal safety. I fell into in a bit of a funk in London but came straight out of it at our next destination…
Lisbon in September was my favorite city thus far. It’s basically San Francisco in Europe right down to the bridge, the hills, the trolley cars and the food. I foolishly thought my spanish would translate roughly to Portuguese but the languages proved very different. I had the best ceviche of my life at a place called A Cevicheria, organized an ad hoc Startup Weekend with a bunch of the folks from our group and an open mic jam session one of our last nights there that was a blast. Lisbon was
the revitalization stop after London and I wasn’t ready to leave.
Rabat in October was… challenging. I’m conflicted on this one because in one sense it’s unlike any culture I’ve ever seen and it’s a place I would have never lived nor experienced without this program so for that I’m thankful. The people were some of the nicest we’ve encountered and we got to ride camels in the Sahara, trek to isolated beaches, explore medinas like the movie Slumdog Millionaire. We were here during the final weeks of the election and it was surreal to think Trump intends to exclude from the US all the Muslim friends we made… And yet for
all the uniqueness and challenge that was Rabat I have no intention of going back. There are hundreds of other places I want to see and I feel like I’ve absorbed the Arabic town flavor adequately for now.
Valencia in November was like the London rest stop equivalent after Belgrade only for Rabat. It was a quiet, clean and tranquil city with beautiful parks, pretty architecture and the first of seven cities where I get to utilize my Spanish. It rained for about half the month but I took advantage of the sunny days to wander this quaint city and get lost in its alleyways. I did a visit to Ireland mid-month to clear up
Schengen visa issues and that side trip was a highlight. I did a side trip to Barcelona and would like to spend more time exploring the rest of Spain at some point.
Mexico City in December is where I am now. I had traveled all over Mexico prior to this but had never spent any time in Mexico City. It’s a city of 8+ million people (20MM if you count the larger metro area). It makes LA look like a village. We’re in a quiet neighborhood where you wouldn’t know how big the town really is but if you travel across town you realize just how massive this place is. I love it so far. It’s got the vibrance of a city on the way up- construction is everywhere, it has the same bustle and rawness of Belgrade, wonderful people and the feeling of promise. Trump is a fool for writing off the Mexican people the way he has.
People have asked me, “What’s your plan after Remote Year?” I have some ideas but no firm plan at this point. Some people in our group our kicking around the notion of getting some RV’s and caravaning around the US on a working road trip. That’s one option. We end up in Buenos Aires Argentina in May and I might stay a bit longer in South America to see Chile and Brazil before coming back. We nearly hit our goal this year to double revenue for Pagely and I intend to continue help growing new customer revenue until we’re acquired, at which point I’ll likely take some time off to formulate my next career move. I was fortunate to have been featured in Inc
Magazine earlier this year for the remote work angle and I believe there’s an ecourse I could put together on that to help folks who are interested in taking that plunge. I also have an itch to try another startup and have been training my “marketing automation muscles” and exploring a concept similar to Shortsaleopedia around placing foreign investment in domestic real estate.
If you’re in Phoenix and happen to be free the evening after Christmas, a handful of us are doing happy hour while I’m home. Hit me up and I’ll send you the details. If you’re outside of Phoenix and within the US and are potentially open to hosting me one night if/when this US road trip idea comes to fruition, reply and let me know so I can start plotting a potential route for that. I’d like to do a circuit around the entire US and my goal of that trip would be to reconnect with as many old friends and acquaintances as possible while seeing parts of the US I’ve never seen and getting the view from locals’ perspectives.
I hope life is treating you well, that you have a restful holiday season with your friends and family and that your 2016 winds to a prosperous and happy close. Drop me a line when you have time and let me know what’s new with you. Que te vaya bien.
-Sean
PS. if you’re on Instagram and want to keep up with my travels on a more frequent basis I post about a
photo per day of something interesting and unique from my travels here.
Well we just broke the halfway mark of Remote Year having left Valencia, Spain and rounded out month six. Here’s my normal video recap that shows where we lived and worked there:
I was fortunate to get outside of Valencia too this past month and travel around Ireland and to Barcelona. Here is the month told in photos:
Salient things that stand out about this past month:
Spain spanish is very different from latin-american spanish. I learned my español in Ecuador so it was a bit of an adjustment to get the Valencian Spanish. They speak very fast and with the “theta” accent.
Ham, ham and more ham. Spain must do 5x average pig consumption per capita as we do in the States. Jamon was on every menu (we even went to a restaurant called “Jamon Jamon.”). If you get a chance to try Iberic ham, do it. It’s delicious. Paella too, but be prepared to take a nap after.
Valencia was a beautiful, quiet, walkable city with clean streets and nice parks. It was a great R&R stop after Rabat and before diving into the 2nd leg of our journey in Mexico and S. America.
Our Ireland trip was the highpoint of the month for me. The Cliffs of Moher were stunning and just driving the countryside was super relaxing. Driving on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right is a mental curveball but such a great experience.
Strong month for sales at Pagely and I’m engaged in two efforts now setting up our business intelligence and implementing a marketing automation framework for improved nurture and conversion.
Anyways, I’m headed back to Phoenix to see friends and family over the Christmas break. If you’re in Phoenix the evening after Christmas we’re doing a happy hour. Hit me up if you want to join and I’ll add you to the FB event. Here are some of the songs that will remind me of this month:
We’re winding down month five of Remote Year Darien and it’s time for my monthly video update showing friends and fam where our group has lived and worked over the past month:
Here’s a photo album that tells the month’s stories in pictures:
Two pieces of gear I’d like to celebrate this month:
My Brookstone mini pocket projector. We’ve done movie nights on the roof of our Riad once each week since we got here and it’s really been a nice break from the grind. Spinal Tap, Swiss Army Man, The 9ines, Napoleon Dynamite and Life Aquatic have been keeping us entertained and sane. Nothing like throwing down some magic carpets and hookah on the roof to watch an American film. At night this little projector is plenty bright and projects a 12′ crystal clear HD image. It only lasts for about an hour on battery so you have to use a power converter but it’s pretty slick and small enough to fit in your cargo shorts (hat tip to Stephan b/c he loves my cargo shorts).
My Aker iPhone case/battery. This thing is a gem- I don’t know what I’d do this month without it since it seems Maroc telecom for whatever reason drains my battery 2x as fast as it should. This thing provides great protection as a case, is only slightly thicker than a normal iPhone case and gives me 2 extra battery charges. I regularly 2 full charges here in Morocco so like I said, I don’t know how I’d do without this thing.
Major takeaways
Morocco is home to some of the warmest people I’ve met. It’s ragged and rough around the edges and precisely the type of experience that we signed up for in joining Remote Year. Anyone can go to London but I would likely never have come to this place if it weren’t for this program.
Between the air pollution and the mold in our place it’s definitely been a respiratory challenge. We leave in two days for Valencia and I’m ready for the change of scenery and air. There are very few grassy parks with lush foliage here and as silly as this sounds that grinds on your psyche. It makes you appreciate places like Prague that had ample greenery and parks scattered throughout the town.
The very first night we had dinner with the RY group that was leaving and got a chance to chat with them. I remember making a mental note that everyone just seemed… tired. I understand now. I think it’s the combination of the extra cognitive load of being on alert and maintaining more thorough situational awareness at all times + the language barrier + the scarcity of greenery that has left us all a bit drained. I don’t have a suggestion there other than to be prepared for that going into it.
The Sahara was amazing. Asilah beach and Hercules’ Cave were both beautiful. The medina in Fes was crazy. All these places we’ve visited here have been super interesting. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have experienced this place, for our guides in the desert, our city managers, cook and support staff at the workspace and all the Careem drivers who took us places while we were here.
Tunes this month
Some of the music that’s been in my ear buds this month:
Good bye Marroco. Inshallah we’ll meet again.
BTW, if you’re not already signed up to get my quarterly impersonal update emails, now would be a good time:
We’re wrapping up our time in Lisbon and are headed to Rabat, Morocco tomorrow so I took the morning to shoot some video that shows a little of the town and where we’ve lived and worked over the past month. Check it out:
A couple points of clarification to the video:
Lisbon, your gelato game is strong, very strong. I commend you for this. I failed to mention this in the video but it’s one of your greatest attributes.
Indeed my sales numbers are up 72% for Pagely since being on Remote Year. In hindsight though the calculation I used overstates the effect. I averaged my sales from the past four months vs. my 11mos at Pagely prior to RY. Some of the lift in that is attributed to other factors (for instance we raised prices back in March, we’re progressively getting larger and larger clients now so deal sizes overall are bigger than they were, I had a ramp up period when I first started, etc). I realized after shooting the video that a better computation would be to compare the past four months to the four months prior to RY. When I refactor with those numbers it’s actually only a 42% lift since being on RY… but still a 42% increase!! If you’re an employer with remote employees consider allowing them to try working abroad. Not only is it possible to match performance but as with my case employees can actually outperform their prior domestically-based selves. I have some theories as to why this is that I’ll explore in a future video.
This is the guy we just hired for the Growth Marketer position. So stoked to have Rod on the USS Pagely.
I wrote more about our Startup Weekend Lisbon experience in my last post. Worth reading if you’ve never attended one. There are some good video testimonials in that from participants.
Here’s a chronology of our time in Lisbon told in photos:
This month’s gear shout-out goes out to my REI Saturn pack. Love this thing. It fits in an overhead carry-on space on the airplane (even though I’ve been checking it since I have a laptop and guitar as carry-ons). Lots of compartments, pockets, webbing, straps, zippers and everything else you’d want in a pack. Solid gear.
Lastly, here are the tunes that were in my earbuds most of Lisbon:
Lisbon you’ve been amazing. Obrigado for everything. I will be back someday.
We held a mini Startup Weekend event in Lisbon this past weekend. For the uninitiated, Startup Weekend is a hackathon-type event in which strangers come together in a weekend and sprint to build and launch a product by Sunday night. It’s a global phenomenon (there were 18 different SW events running simultaneously in various cities around the world this past weekend). Ours was unique in that it was exclusive to our Remote Year group but it followed the same structure in terms of concept pitches and team formation Friday night, work all Sat/Sun and then demos of the product on Sunday night. This was my 8th SW event (you can read about some past ones I’ve been involved with hereherehere and here).
Here are a few interviews with participants following the conclusion of the event to give you an idea of what the experience was like in their words:
We had 24 participants from Remote Year who gelled into the following five teams: Loo Review – Yelp for Restrooms DiscoverPath – Self-guided walking tours Carrot App – Intercept eCommerce impulse buys and encourage savings Swipe Up – Disintermediate the airline industry Volunteer Everywhere – eHarmony for volunteering (site not live yet)
Carrot App took first place and DiscoverPath and Volunteer Everywhere tied for 2nd. All of the teams did incredible work pulling this stuff together in a weekend. I had originally proposed doing a SW event with Remote Year folks back at our final Town Hall in Belgrade. With the help of many people working behind the scenes we pulled this together on a greatly-accelerated timeline than normal SW events.
My pitch and deck below for DiscoverPath:
(video credit Chris Peloquin)
Our team had awesome chemistry and was able to get an entire functioning MVP of the app built. This is us creating the next tech unicorn in the streets of Lisbon:
The current version of the app is a pure MVP and has 3 monuments in Lisbon tagged with audio narrations. It enables an example free-form walking tour whereby the listener gets the wikipedia description of each landmark as he/she comes within the specified geofence of each. It’s a phonegap app so cross-platform support. The backend is served on a free Heroku server utilizing Keystone (node.js-based CMS), opensource maps, Leaflet js and other free open source libraries. It’s a bit surreal to think the entire tech stack for this (including the hosting) was free (as in dollars and licensing) only the time of the developers working over the weekend to pull it all together. How far we’ve come since the days of $10k in Windows server and MSSQL stack licensing… I’m hopeful we’ll continue to hack together on it and refine the app to get it to a more useful state during the course our travels over the next eight months. This is something I want myself.
Lastly, I wanted to give quick shout-outs to the 25 Remotes who took a leap of faith on this event and gave up their weekend in Lisbon to build a product. To Wout Laban who flew all the way from Amsterdam to facilitate the event. Maria-Christina of TechStars for helping coordinate the intro to Wout and giving us approval to do this one a bit differently than the traditional SW. Aline, Jenna, Goncalo and Tomas from RY for supporting us with coordinating food, logistics, venue, etc for the weekend. To Pagely for buying us all lunch on Saturday. Thanks also to Andre Marquet, Miguel Arroja, Afonso Ramos and Toby Gutsche (local Lisbon entrepreneurs) for mobilizing on such short notice and donating time to be judges at the event. And an extra shout-out to Miguel for giving up a Saturday to help provide mentorship for the teams. Lastly, thanks to my friend Andrew Hyde for making the initial intro that set this whole thing in motion. If you’d like to get in touch with any of the teams please leave a comment here and I’ll be happy to coordinate an intro. Check StartupWeekend.org to find out when this event will be in your city next.
