The origins of my current venture followed what was supposed to be, but not what I had planned.
When an entrepreneur fails to drive a start-up to success, it becomes personal.
Especially if said entrepreneur ties their identity to being an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship is what you do, not who you are.
That separation is essential.
“Failing forward,” a mentor from MassChallenge’s Fellowship program in Boston once said while I was beta testing our AI Northern Chile in 2024.
Contracts with multi-billion companies and tech giants.
National press.
Government shaking hands with the American entrepreneur bringing holograms to their cities.
“You are a celebrity here,” said the director of the foundation we partnered with.
“We’re going to need an additional 150k to finish this project,” our technical director flagged.
Fast forward to the week before the beta testing went live: a major contract fell through. We ran out of oxygen to breathe.
I called Washington DC. “Well someone’s going to buy the code eventually,” they replied.
I hung up the phone.
Looked at the Pacific Ocean from my penthouse.
It was as if a part of my soul was ripped apart.
That night, I cried in a fetal position.
I was alone.
In the Atacaman Desert 🏜️ a 36 hour plane ride from Boston.
Unsure of what was next, I decided to stay in the Sourhern Hemisphere of South America.
I packed my cat, my two suitcases, and bought a one way flight to Argentina.
I arrived to Buenos Aires in December 2024.
“Take a sabbatical” a mentor from Boston said
“Take one year away from it all” said our board of advisors on a phone call while at the airport.
I was defeated, lost, crushed, unsure of what the future held.
I slept for 12 hours per day.
Sometimes 14.
Sometimes I lost track of time.
I was burnt out.
When burnout is worn as a badge of honor in Boston or Silicon Valley, it almost becomes as if that was an achievement to strive towards.
It should never be.
It is a recipe for crashing face first into the planet.
It is a recipe for unsustainable growth.
Burnout has long term health consequences.
And then, something happened: the warmth of South America, the slower pace of day to day life, and the ability to rest led to an epiphany:
What was I rushing for?
Why was I going one million miles per hour?
There was no reason.
And so, for the majority of 2025, I was in a sabbatical away from entrepreneurship.
Finding myself.
But then, He came into my life.
We were introduced by an ex-student of his that is now in California.
I met him in Belgrano.
We spoke about our careers
We spoke about our similar passions
On paper, he looked like the ideal candidate to be a co-founder of a new venture.
The credentials he held were impressive
ex-McKinsey
Full Bright Scholar
Director of entrepreneurship
Professor at a prestigious institution.
Multiple startup founder.
On paper he looked perfect.
What would unfold would tell a story full of complexity and contradictions.
We met in the midst of my sabbatical.
The opportunity seemed too good to pass up.
And so, we began to meet once, sometimes twice per month to discuss possibilities.
But slowly, he listened more than he was able to provide.
His answers to questions were questionable.
His indecisiveness was a flag that he never waved.
“Today I am operating at 50%” I once told him
“I don’t even want to know what 100% is. It would be like a cartoon that leaves dust behind,” he responded.
More ambiguity
Until in an international business forum, I sat down with him and told him I was moving forward with a new venture. It had been 4 months of ambiguity.
“Trust my timing,” he would say
I saw enough to know we were not compatible.
“With what product are you going to incorporate!?” He said.
Little did he know I had baked Plan B with potential paths, potential ideas, potential development of technology while his ambiguity reigned.
“By the way,” I told him as he sat up from a bean bag chair, “you’re not old, you’re tired.” He looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“Your energy is across 5 different containers.”
I left the doors open, knowing our paths would most likely not emerge.
I was terrified.
I was on my own again.
And so, I began building.
One line of code after the next.
One afternoon, I was in a flow state
The core of the platform emerged
That platform is now Sapii
Focus on the future
Focus on impact
Focus on building from the love in your heart
And from the power within
I spent the entire weekend in flow
I spent the entire weekend in development
Until Monday morning came.
I stared at the lily screen.
I had done it.
And so, in December of 2025 we officially incorporated.
I think about him from time to time
Whatever else came from knowing him, the relationship changed me.
It forced me to grow in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
That growth gave me the courage to build again.
Sometimes we don’t know why people cross our paths.
Sometimes we don’t know why things fall apart.
Sometimes we only understand when we reverse engineer time.
And sometimes, there is no explanation at all.
But life has a way of unfolding
That aligns itself if we just give it time.
