Business as a Philosophy
And why I'm starting a coffee supplement company
Turning 30 is not trivial. Some say it only matters because we count in Base10. But in doing so we’ve created a societal benchmark that each generation can use to complain about the future and wistfully remember the past.
“After 30 - my [body part] was never the same.”
“Before 30 - I could do [unhealthy or strenuous activity] and feel fine.”
So maybe that’s what got me so interested in supplements. It started with getting better sleep and maximizing my time at the gym. Then Huberman came onto the scene and became the next Dr. Oz for millennials. Then I realized I couldn’t handle alcohol anymore. And now suddenly I’m creating custom supplement mixtures every month consisting of:
1 kilogram of protein powder (gains)
120 grams of creatine (gains)
300 grams of Athletic greens (gut health)
1000+mg of fish oil + Vitamin D (lots of good shit)
I mix a portion of it into a smoothie every day. And I’ve maybe created a new daily ritual for life?
Which then brought me into my next side project.
My new venture is a Vietnamese Super Coffee. Specifically a tasty Vietnamese mushroom + adaptogenic coffee that doesn’t cause you to crash in the afternoons.
If it feels like a random pivot from data science interviewing - that’s because it is.
Which came first? The business idea or the supplement interest?
Four months ago I joked around with friends that I wanted to build “Athletic Yellows”, effectively Athletic Greens for Asians. Now I’m shipping 40 kilograms of Vietnamese instant coffee from Ho Chi Minh. And throughout the past few months, I’ve slowly invested learning about the wellness domain to where I can tell you which supplements have strong clinical research and which ones are maybe bullshit?
I’m not sure how I ended up here. At a conference last week - one thing that stood out was how other entrepreneurs view their businesses as deeply personal endeavors. One friend told me it’s the most philosophical thing that they’ve ever done. In any given, he sits in the drivers seat, and decides which direction to take the business.
It makes sense to me. We see Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, as great entrepreneurs to aspire to, when in reality they may just represent the identity of ruthless conquerors. We can only be happy that they channel their impetus for domination by building a capitalistic empire rather than existing in 500 BC and extending the Roman one through bloodshed.
Similarly no one can argue that Amazon is what it is today because of the ambition of Jeff Bezos, rather than his deep interest in third party logistics and cloud computing.
And I can see the parallels for my own identity from the beginning of Interview Query. I was an aspiring writer, a data scientist, and someone that wanted to grow out of an IC role into something where I had more leverage and say over what I worked out. And it became the perfect startup for where I was in my life at that time.
Now it can be tough to be connected to the mission when the last time I had to intensely study for the interview for four years ago. So naturally much of what I think about day to day is on leveraging talent, operations, strategy, and cash flow so that the business can operate and mature far into the future.
Which is kind of the core question of business as a philosophy. How deeply embedded does a business become with your identity? How does the business morph as you grow and your interests change?
Naturally I think all people understand that following your interests lead you in the best direction possible. But developing those interests, how it intertwines with your life and where you’re at, are all rhetorical questions.
Either way - it’s something to ask and ponder. For me, it may be the anxiety of turning 30 that will open up a whole new realm of self-exploration and entrepreneurship. There's no guidebook for navigating these changes, just as there's no guidebook for running a business or pursuing a passion. Yet, we create our path, weaving our interests, beliefs, and experiences into an intricate tapestry of individuality. That to me is the philosophy of business.