New York to Toronto, and Everything in Between
Hello friends,
Greetings from Canada! As you’re wondering, this is a reincarnation of my sporadic email newsletter turned barren Squarespace site now turned trendy Substack newsletter. My intention is to propagate this digital home with bespoke updates and thought pieces that are more personal than the periphery of my Instagram account.
So much transpired over the last year - globally, personally. A few sparks of good amidst a tremendous amount of bad. I’m writing to share a few of the good sparks with you, in the hopes of creating a space for open dialogue, dear reader and friend.
Adventure Westward
Back in July, my boyfriend (Elling) and I decided to cut our leases short, pack our lives up into storage, and venture west towards California in a 1974 Volkswagen van. This came at a time when pandemic paranoia and social unrest swept NYC, and while E and I had taken up cycling as a sport and a means to get around the city safely, we were yearning for open space and greenery beyond the confines of our apartments. That said, I recognize how incredibly privileged we were to be able to do this, all while working full-time. (Full guide to van life coming to you shortly in the next episode; van life videos on my YouTube channel in the meantime).
On busier workdays with important work calls, we stayed at hotels, but for the most part, we tried our best to embrace the great outdoors while living out of our van (all 15’ of her glory) and avoiding other humans (#covid). The time and space away from NYC and our typical work setup enabled a different thought process. In short, E and I both realized we desired a certain level of autonomy and ownership in our professional lives that we were missing and decided we would leave our corporate jobs (his at a hedge fund, mine in big tech) in pursuit of that. I wanted to build something to address the greater environmental issues at hand, and E sought an opportunity to build his own search fund.
New Chapter in Toronto
We spent a few months in LA, primarily for me to see friends and family (socially distanced) until E’s fund finalized their first acquisition of a company in Toronto, which became the impetus for our move northeast and the start of a new chapter together. I then left Google after 8 magical years and am taking a brief sabbatical before plunging into the world of entrepreneurship.
Now during this brief period of time off and untethered, I intend to create more than I consume and to consume consciously. I’m taking a page from Steve Jobs and following my intuition and curiosities, including but not limited to:
Meeting new founders and investing in their companies with a network of female angel investors that I’m building with a few others at caus.capital (website coming soon)
Brewing kombucha at home to delight in the exploration of new flavors and to better understand the correlation between gut health and cognitive function
Working on a Mat Pilates certification through Merrithew to better understand the connection between the mind and body
Training our 4 month old puppy, Bailey, an australian shepherd labrador poodle mix (you can follow her on Instagram at @helloladybailey)
Taking a myriad of courses online, including this one on Achieving Personal and Professional Success at Wharton, this one on The Science of Well-Being at Yale, and this one on How to Build a StartUp by Steve Blank
Writing for this Substack :)
This chapter is, of course, still being written, and as I sign off for now, I’ll leave you with this, which I hope inspires you in some way:
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” - Martha Graham via James Clear
Yours,
Ivana