The studio
About
It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.
What this is
The Good Studio is the studio that holds all of my ideas, experiments, and writing. In a perfect world there will be multiple products, a newsletter or something like it, and whatever else comes along. It’s really my studio for chasing the ideas I have.
The move
About two years ago I moved to Brazil to live with my fiancée. I walked away from a job at a startup to do it. It was a tough decision, but I don’t regret it. As difficult as it’s been to get a business started remotely, the benefits of living here have been incredible.
Why
I spent my career trying to make as much money as possible. I never got rich, but by the end I was making a decent living. My day to day still sucked, and the reality was that it wasn’t going to change anytime soon. The Sunday scaries were going to be with me for the next twenty-plus years, and the yearly two-week vacation was going to be the highlight.
A studio, not a startup
Why a studio and not a startup? For one, I don’t think I could raise capital at this point, which makes the decision easier. But even with a line of people looking to hand me money, I wouldn’t take it, because I want to keep my independence. I’ve seen what it’s like to chase and meet the demands of investors, and I have no desire to do that. I’m not looking to become the next billionaire. I want to make enough money to enjoy my life.
Before this
I spent eight years in fintech operations, three at JPMorgan and the rest across fintech and crypto startups, automating processes and running reconciliations. Today that experience runs through the studio, with fifty-plus automations in production for clients.
The name
The name works on every level I could want. It started as a nod to working with businesses doing good in the world, and the rest came along with it: good work, a good life, doing good.
Somebody once said that before getting into business you think running one is extremely hard, and then you start running one and realize it’s ten times harder than you ever could have thought. That’s been about right.