Did you blink and miss this year? I feel like I did. 

Tomorrow we enter the year 2025, which is crazy. Crazy because, besides that year sounding like something out of a sci-fi movie I’d watch as a kid, it seems like just yesterday I was doing planning with my team for 2024. 

Slow down to speed up. Reflect.

That feeling of a year flying by, I know is not unique to me. Ever since I became a founder, I’ve been prone to falling into that trap. Throughout the year, you go from sprint to sprint, goal to goal, and maybe sprinkle a pivot in there as well.  When December comes around you’ve got blinders on, just looking at what needs to happen in January.

It can be so easy to just keep going and say, “Why stop? There’s no time!”

Well, in this essay, my final newsletter issue of 2024, my only push for you is to stop and reflect on all that’s happened in 2024. Take stock of everything you’ve accomplished.  Do this on a personal and professional level.

This is an opportunity to slow down to speed up via a peek back at the year that just passed. Doing so will give you perspective and help you realize that even though you feel like you have not done enough, you have done a ton. It is important to embrace positivity and momentum as you move into the new year.

Be grateful for 2024

Don’t sleep on gratitude either.  

The uncertainty of being a startup founder can be scary, but to be successful in any phase of startups (especially fundraising), you have to be confident. The good thing is, reflecting on everything good that’s happened in 2024 will fill you with gratitude. As a teacher once told me, it’s impossible to be be grateful and fearful at the same time. 🙏

Leading by example - my gratitude for 2024

This past year was not without its challenges for me, both personally and professionally, but there is so much to be proud of and grateful for. So, I’ll wrap this up by leading by example and sharing a few awesome things from my year. 

A new home & community space

At the beginning of the year, I bought a home and started (slowly) turning it into a place to bring people together. I’ve got a great backyard for hosting, which lets me bring friends together for breakfasts on the patio. Soon, I’m excited to introduce morning workouts!

Growing the team

We drafted two new stars to the Adamant team in 2024! It’s been a pleasure to add Mariela and Abby to our already stellar team and expand our ability to support founders around the world.

New Products / Services / Events

2024 was a time to experiment and improve how we serve founders. I’m so proud of our updates to the Adamant Fundraising program and community, and I’ve been extremely happy with the service we’ve provided founders and fund managers via our fundraising ops offerings like Adamant Launch.

Our events around the world were also next level! From hosting Dawn Patrol events in cities all over the world to Founder Jam 2, we were able to meet amazing entrepreneurs face-to-face and continue adding to our global community.

Family reunions 

This year, we had family reunions on both my mom’s and dad’s sides. In November, 25 aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered in Las Vegas. Just last week, I was in Taiwan with my dad’s side of the family, while also visiting friends who are like family.

(me with baby cousins)

It had been forever since I had seen so many of them. A great reminder of the importance of family and how fun it is to travel to Taiwan!

Wrapping up 2024

I hope you take the encouragement of reflecting on your year with gratitude.

As we wrap up 2024, I want to leave you with a few more thoughts:

• Share a meal, a hug, or just some laughter with the people you care about.

• Do something indulgent—a cheat meal, a day off, whatever feels like a treat.  You’ve worked hard this year! Live a little :) 

• Most importantly: reflect on the fact that no matter what the year threw at you, you made it through, and that’s something to be proud of. While there’s still much to do, you yourself are enough. Always happy, never satisfied :)

Here’s to a new year filled with new adventures and new opportunities to grow. Thank you for being part of this journey with me—I don’t take it for granted, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll build together in 2025.

Happy holidays, friends. See you next year.

With gratitude,
Jason

Not necessary for everyone, but if you're going to do anything that adds a ton of lines on your cap table (like a bunch of small grant advisors), you might get benefit out of organizing it in a RUV.

Haha - i couldn't quite figure out what this was about, but thought it was funny enough to share.

Here's to making 2025 the year expectations are exceeded! 🥂

Small asks!

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