After 8 years of running an AI tech company as a solo female founder, I threw in the towel.
I had a good idea and an amazing team that built an app that used behavioral science to assess one’s values, such as empathy, innovation, and agility, and match each individual with social impact activities that reflected their personality. Some of you may recall the Kind Quiz and my company Summery.
I was an accidental founder, not driven to build new technology, but motivated to help individuals better understand their values so they could find more purpose in their lives through community activities and giving back.
I came up with the idea of the Kind Quiz during the book tour for my autobiography Adventures of a Nomad, where I share stories from my 2-year, solo journey to 62 countries and all 7 continents volunteering with humanitarian organizations.
While on my book tour, I kept hearing from readers that they wanted to do something similar but didn’t know where to start. So I built an app to provide folks with volunteering and giving opportunities that were calibrated for their unique social impact personality—one of 98,304 different combinations of kindness.
The Kind Quiz was a cool idea, but the execution was exhausting. And that’s saying something since I’m a workhorse, motivated to achieve both personally and for the societal good.
Shutting down the Kind Quiz wasn’t the first time I took myself off the fast track. I began my career in investment management and within a few years, I was the youngest SVP running the largest region for the sale of philanthropic management products for a global bank.
But this job was hateful to me, surrounded by colleagues motivated by money and prone to cut-throat shenanigans to win a sale at any cost. I was deeply unhappy and my health declined sharply. My doctor told me the only remedy was to quit my job. So I did.
I stepped away from the world of finance, deciding that instead of raising money for a bank, I would apply my sales and marketing skills to fundraise for nonprofit organizations. I became a business consultant to pro-social businesses.
I set up a consulting firm with strict parameters that allowed me to work nine months out of the year and travel for three. During the off-months, I traveled overseas to offer my fundraising services pro bono and to help connect local organizations with funders in the U.S.
And I loved it! So much freedom. Doing good work. Helping dedicated people and organizations secure the resources to pursue their missions. I wanted more. So, I took a two-year sabbatical from consulting to travel the world volunteering.
What followed was the book, book tour, and readers requesting help in making the transition to a life filled with purpose, too. Cue the creation of the company Summery. Enter the Kind Quiz and our social impact matching.
Before I knew it, I found myself in the world of tech in the heart of hard-hitting (and highly ageist and misogynist) Silicon Valley. It was a steep learning curve as I hired developers, learned about AI, and pitched investors. While offered funding early on, I elected to boot-strap the company with my own money to protect our ethical data policy and partnership options.
It was a typical start-up story: 8 years of work, 6 years without a salary, $200k of my own money invested, and my prime money-making years lost. Despite Summery counting large companies like Salesforce, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, RSF Social Finance, and California Community Colleges as our clients, we only had one profitable year.
It was a lot. A lot of stress. A lot of exhaustion. A lot of disillusions (three large companies swindled us.) During the last several years of running the company, I used to joke that I had the perfect life before the start-up: writing books, working with nonprofits, and traveling the world.
And one day, it dawned on me. I could stop this loop-de-loop. No one but me was keeping me on this crazy ride. I owned 85% of the company. The other 15% was set aside for employee stock options for my advisors, who had also put in blood, sweat, and tears. Unfortunately, we never had any paid employees except me, and the stock options were worthless.
So, I shut the whole thing down. I remember sitting on my balcony in the Dominican Republic and deciding to pull the plug. This was after years of most of my advisors, family, and friends begging me to shelve the company and prioritize my health and sanity.
A tough decision for sure. No one likes to admit failure. But no one likes to go through life stressed out and unhappy either. With my decision to close the company came an onslaught of creativity and energy.
Within days, I was writing my new travel guide series Exploring the World with Nomads, about how to go location-independent and highlighting professionals who have embraced a nomadic life in pursuit of more fulfillment, more freedom, and more fun.
And now I am once again doing what I love: writing books, working with nonprofits, and traveling the world. I now consult with pro-social businesses that leverage technology to help make the world a better place.
I’m also back to writing and helping curious folks explore the world of the digital nomad (professionals who work while traveling) through my Substack, book series, curated trips, and online courses.
Ok, so maybe I didn’t totally leave the entrepreneurial world behind, but I definitely ditched the stress, anxiety, and unhappiness that had plagued me for years.
I’m proof that at any age and stage of our professional career, we can take a detour and find a new path. The new way forward may be less money (or not), it may be less prestigious (or not), but you are guaranteed a life that is a whole lot more fulfilling.
To paraphrase Mary Oliver, “What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?" I’ll tell you what I’m doing—living it to the fullest.
And you can, too, if you make the (hard) choice to get off the merry-go-round. Grab the brass ring. Keep your career, but embrace a new lifestyle. Explore new destinations. Contribute to society in new ways. Embrace the world. Your new nomad life awaits. 🦋
Have you ever thought about quitting your job? What is stopping you? Can you envision a different life for yourself?
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Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson is a professional speaker and author of the Nomad Life™ series of travel books and guides, including the #1-ranked “Explore the World with Nomads.”
So inspiring. It’s easy to continue something due to sunk cost fallacy but the real power is knowing when to stop and pivot.
Great story and ditto decisions. Reading it I don't believe Summery was a failure as you suggest while making the decision. It was a lesson combined with a wise decision. People should make those kinds of decisions more often and with it lower stress and subsequently improve health and quality of life.