Looking back at 2011, ahead to 2012
If 2012 is anything like 2011 for me I better get ready for a wild ride. The year started off with a pilgrimage to Lambeau Field to see the Packers defeat the Bears and enter the playoffs (thanks @tsand), then lots of good things:
- my third kid was born in time to watch the rematch of the Packers and the Bears on tv for the NFC championship (then they won the Superbowl!),
- my startup (TribeHR) went from a project to a business over a couple months then to a VC backed business ($1 Million) by mid-year,
- raised a $1 Million donation to the University of Waterloo’s VeloCity program from a 23 yr old in March with another $1 Million from the Ontario Centre’s of Excellence in July,
- the 3-pitch softball team I am on actually won a game and had a great season overall! go #abat!
- put a plan in motion for VeloCity’s workspace program to go from 1000 sq ft to 6700 sq ft (opens this winter),
- helped dozens of startups get off the ground,
- taught my son how to skate and decided to help coach with the hockey fundamentals program he is in which meant getting back on skates for the first time in a very long time,
- in November VeloCity was recognized with a Tech Impact Award from Communitech which is something I held as a big goal — building VeloCity into something that has a big impact on the local tech community is something I am very proud of,
- TribeHR was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2011 Junior Business Spirit Awards as well as earning Judge’s choice at Under the Radar in Mountain View,
- and finally my co-founder was on stage at the Canadian Innovation Exchange with TribeHR being one of Canada’s most Innovative companies.
None of the above list would have been possible without my family, the people in the community – startup and otherwise, and the amazing people I have had the pleasure to work with. Thank you all for the awesome year.
The oddest thing that happened was when a car leapt off of the road and tried to enter my dining room only to flip over and land on my friends Jeep. The pictures are just crazy.
A sad point was leaving the University of Waterloo after just over 10 years there (started there the end of May 2001 in the Information and Public Affairs department) and recognizing just how burned out the last year or so has left me. After all that time in one place (go back to 1997 if you count my student time with a short break working with small businesses and the web in 2000) it will likely be more difficult than I think it will to mentally break away from that identity but it is a healthy thing for me to do.
2011 was a year of learning, change, and growth… 2012 will be about my family and what to do with all the knowledge and experience I have gained personally and professionally. Specific goal of the year: be happy.
In closing… the fun part of having a blog for a long time is the old posts. A look back 5 years ago brings back a lot of good memories.
