Occupational Wellness
Occupational and financial wellness emphasizes the dual journey of achieving professional fulfillment and financial stability. It’s about navigating our careers with purpose and intention, ensuring our work not only meets our financial needs but also aligns with our personal values and aspirations. This wellness area encourages us to manage our finances wisely, from day-to-day budgeting to long-term wealth management, fostering a sense of security and comfort. While my primary focus lies in the realms of startups and innovative technology.
Current Efforts
- MarchToStartup: An iterative exploration and execution project aimed at identifying and nurturing innovative startup ideas across various industries, with the goal of building a diverse entrepreneurial legacy that achieves multi-billion-dollar success and contributes to human progress.
- Innovator's Blueprint: The process of innovation in any area follows a similar path. It starts with recognizing a problem or having a "great" idea/solution. This is followed by market/competitor analysis, customer discovery/lean methodology, and UX/UI design. Innovator's Blueprint takes me through the entire innovation process to templatize it. I will primarily focus on SaaS (apps and web).
Future Efforts
- Web Development: My next future ambition is to delve into full-stack web development. This journey is about transforming design mockups into fully functional web applications, leveraging the accessibility of web platforms to bring ideas to life. My goal is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of both front-end and back-end technologies, enabling me to create seamless, user-centered digital experiences.
- iOS App Development: After advancing my web development skills, I plan to revisit iOS app development. My goal is straightforward: to use my refreshed skills to develop apps that align with my ideas, with an eye towards generating passive income. This step is about putting into practice what I've learned to create useful applications.
- Andriod App Development: After updating my iOS development skills, I plan to learn how to create applications for Android. This approach is to ensure that my applications are accessible to a wider audience. Ultimately, I hope to use my skills in both web and app development to work towards earning passive income, ideally reaching a goal of $5k per month.
- Portfolio Development: Depending on the success of my passive income endeavors or the state of my financial runway, I plan to focus on building out my portfolio. This will be a strategic move to either explore freelancing opportunities or secure a position in the tech industry that pays well enough to manage my student loans. This effort is about being prepared to pivot and leverage my skills in a way that ensures financial stability.
- Youtube: My occupational wellness journey is being shared through 'MarchToStartup' on YouTube, where I chronicle the highs and lows of striving towards startup success. Recognizing the room for enhancement in my video presentations, I am committed to refining my recording techniques. The goal is to ensure that the insights and experiences I share are both accessible and engaging for my audience, making every piece of content valuable and easy to digest.
- Algorand: With an eye on the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, I'm drawn to Algorand for its potential. Before diving in, I intend to conduct thorough research on web3 and blockchain technology to understand its true value. This investigation will inform whether there are viable opportunities for development within the Algorand ecosystem, aligning with my interest in innovative tech solutions.
- Wealth and Investing: Looking ahead to the next stage of my journey (1-2 years from 2024), my goal is to save at least $100k in assets. This milestone will enable me to begin exploring investment and charity opportunities that align with my values and the impact I wish to create. A future long-term interest is in mentoring and investing in solutions that contribute to human progress, as well as contributing to community development, STEM education, and support for minority-owned businesses. Through these endeavors, I aim to contribute to the growth and empowerment of areas I believe needed more attention during my upbringing.
- Leadership: In the next three to five years from 2024, I see myself leading a team dedicated to developing innovative solutions. Recognizing the importance of strong leadership in achieving this vision, I am committed to enhancing my leadership skills. This improvement is crucial not just for guiding the team effectively but also for ensuring our collective efforts align with and meet my expectations. By fostering a supportive and driven team environment, we can collaboratively tackle challenges and realize the goals we set out to achieve.
- Project Management: As I venture further into leading a team and bringing our collective vision to life, the necessity of proficient project management becomes increasingly clear. Mastering this skill will enable me to oversee our projects with precision, ensuring that each step is aligned with our goals and executed efficiently. Embracing this aspect of leadership is essential for steering our efforts towards successful outcomes.
- Physical Product Development: While my current focus is on Software as a Service (SaaS), I anticipate branching out into the realm of physical product development in the future. This expansion will require a broadened skill set and an understanding of new processes and challenges distinct from the digital sphere. Preparing for this shift means equipping myself with the knowledge and resources necessary to navigate the complexities of bringing physical products from concept to market.
Timeline
- 2024-3: Learning Innovator's Blueprint as the first step into my startup journey.
- 2024-2: Started my company.
- 2024-1: Started March To Startup journey.
- 2024: Racked up $90k in student loans.
- 2024: Deciding to dropout of Ph.D. after 1 year to pursue entrepreneurial interests.
- 2023: Graduated with MS in electrical engineering.
- 2022: Wasted a lot of my internship money on crypto and NFTs.
- 2022: Interned at NVIDIA for VLSI.
- 2021: Interned at NVIDIA for VLSI.
- 2021: Graduated with BS in Electrical Engineering with capstones in VLSI, embedded systems, and analog integrated circuits.
- 2017: Started dabbling in stocks. Learned that I prefer stocks that I just hold over time over day trading. Also, I am not Warren Buffet.