Entering a new decade
As I am writing this piece on my first trip of the year to San Francisco, I can’t help but look at the past decade. I spent most of the 2010s in Singapore but ended it in old Europe as we decided to relocate to France in 2018 in order to bring a different viewpoint to our kids.
As the 2010s were full of new adventures and experiences; I deeply felt last year that it is now more important than ever to bring stability to my life and start aligning my actions with my purpose. 2019 was all about setting up the foundations for the years to come. I am committed to continuing helping technology companies to grow but with a purpose and in a sustainable way.
As part of those foundations, we shifted our focus at Pufferfish Partners to focus extensively on French and European companies that are growing fast: we want to be an active part of their success in Asia by defining and executing their strategy, recruiting local talents and grow their business from Singapore. 2019 was the first year we operated a new model with first successes.
In 2019 I also continued learning about the impact of AI: I am really grateful to Lattice Engines to let me spearhead their operations in Europe; we had a fantastic year at Fermat really making a big impact on how big data can be analyzed at scale.
2019 was also the year where the world realized that we absolutely need to transition to a new system. Numerous reports backed up by scientific research have been released showing the negative impact our current system is having on biodiversity, the ocean and the planet at large; burnout syndrome is one the rise, the US population is mixing its addiction to sugar to opioids which can make one wonder about the sense of purpose people find in their work or their life; we are creating a society where we are escaping reality — illustrated by the massive rise of the entertainment industry.
In order to start acting in the right direction, we decided to launch the Beyond Institute as a Think Tank to help us understand what actions we need to take, what companies we need to help and what technologies we need to push to transition to a new economy. What lies in front of us? the future of food, the future of work, the future of capitalism, the future of well-being. We are researching mainly on how to build companies that are truly inclusive, driven by purpose, where real technology and science is making a difference and helping human beings to live a life linked to nature.
BEYOND helps us identifying the companies that can make a difference that we then help through Anthisma Partners in France and Pufferfish Partners in Asia. It allowed us to meet fantastic companies changing their industries. You can learn more on Beyond here and there
In 2019 I once again traveled extensively to meet extraordinary people, meet great companies and experience life. TripIt is telling me that I flew 187,000 km and was on plane 31 weeks out of 52…this is way too much, I have to find a way to stay at home more often.
On the highlights I was invited for the first time at the UN in New York, went back 3 times to Singapore and discovered the beauty of the Greek islands. We continued showing Europe to the kids by bringing them Amsterdam, Berlin, and Athens.
I understood the importance of balance thanks to Alexandra and unfortunately experienced how quickly you can lose this balance when you fight for your project and try to juggle too many things. It can act as a distraction leading you to forget what’s truly important in your life. I ran 2 half marathons (1h40) and one 10k (48mns) race to keep in shape
So what’s the plan for 2020? Bring stability and feel alive; as simple as that. I am looking at helping the right projects as we continue the research at BEYOND. You can expect to see me more at INSEAD and definitely stay closer to home.
To conclude, let’s look at the lessons learned in 2019:
- Be realistic
- Plan
- Develop healthy habits
- Raise your standards
- Take criticism seriously but not personally
