Welcome to my third investor update.
This will be a good one.
Exciting update—today is the public launch of Anavah Talent.
Click the button below to drop a quick like + comment. It would mean the world.
- Chris Crump
PUBLIC LAUNCH OF ANAVAH TALENT
Today is the public launch of Anavah Talent.
If you could click the link above and give us a quick like + comment, your contribution would appease the volatile LinkedIn algorithm gods.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Know someone who is looking for incredible overseas talent?
CPAs, Virtual Assistants, Project Managers, Real Estate Cold Callers, Sales Reps, Designers, Operations, Customer Support, etc.
Here’s an intro template that you can copy/paste and email to your connection (feel free to CC chris@anavahtalent.com).
LIFE UPDATE
In November, I received a job offer to be Chief of Staff at an awesome HealthTech startup.
Concurrently, this outsourcing business hit me in the face (detailed in my second investor update).
As a test, I gave myself two months to see if it went anywhere.
After two months, we had 9 customers and ~$46k in revenue.
I officially turned down the job offer/
GO SLOW TO GO FAST
All our clients have been referral-based.
The first two months were spent de-risking a major component each week and seeing if the business was possible.
These were the first few questions:
QUESTION 1: Can I recruit a licensed CPA in the Philippines?
QUESTION 2: Can I recruit three CPAs in the Philippines?
QUESTION 3: How can I convince a prospective customer (who I don’t personally know) to work with me?
We’ve proven these out.
Now, the questions become more challenging:
Can we create a repeatable go-to-market process?
Can we build a durable, recurring-revenue model?
How can we scale without jeopardizing quality?
It’s time to find out.
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO START A BUSINESS
Now, I don’t want to paint the picture that this has been some kind of fairytale—I have not discovered a magical money-printer.
To be honest, running a business is brutal (and I just started lol).
It’s maximum ambiguity.
Every problem is your problem.
You don’t get paid on a regular basis.
There’s no one to tell you ‘Good job’ at the end of a long week.
And, you constantly feel like an idiot.
The line between feeling like an idiot and feeling like a genius is razor thin—and it oscillates daily.
The interplay between Idiot / Genius is a feeling that unites all founders, entrepreneurs, and parents (lol).
The solution: Try, iterate, fail, learn, and try again.
WHY ITS OKAY TO FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT
Turning 26 (in December) was a huge milestone for me.
Ben Franklin once said, “Most men die at 25, but just aren't buried until they're 75.”
I’m determined to live a life worth living.
In my first investor update, I wrote about how the first 25 years of my life were low agency, low autonomy.
Since I was 10 years old, I’ve consistently worked long hours with low agency:
Long and painful hours at Goldman Sachs and Boom.
Garbage life habits and over-involvement in college.
Staying up til 2AM each night in high school working on pointless homework.
Turns out, I value agency, autonomy, and ownership.
Through the last 6-months of this entrepreneurial journey, God has moved in ways I never imagined were possible.
Things I’ve prayed about for years were answered in mere months.
God gave us incredible community in Austin (and I’ve been present for it).
I’ve seen healing from past trauma and pain (through various modalities).
I’ve seen tremendous growth in my relationship with Lauren (after 10 years of being together).
It’s almost like giving God zero space to work leads to suboptimal outcomes.
It’s not rocket science (but I guess it was for me).
WORKING ON CHRIS 2.0
The habits formed in your 20s set the course for your 30s (which sets the course for your 40s, 50s, and 60s).
When I took my first pause in 25 years, I realized my habits were awful.
Sure, you can always turn things around—but there’s no chance I’m changing my habits when I have four kids, a dog, and a mortgage (if I ever get W2 income again lol).
I view this time of entrepreneurship as the chance to work on myself.
I have three goals for this time.
How can I be better at decision making.
How can I create better habits.
How can I become a better man.
THE 2.0 FRAMEWORK
This time of improvement is focused on the following areas:
Wisdom from Specific Mentors
Spiritual mentors (who are full of discernment)
Business mentors (who have been in the trenches before)
Health mentors (who can push me to be healthier)
Relationship mentors (who can be impartial arbiters)
Improved Mental & Physical Health
Started physical therapy (to fix ignored ailments and prevent injuries)
Began a rigorous strength-training regimen (Lauren is pleased!)
Changed my diet (more lean protein and less processed food)
Altered my relationship with caffeine + cut alcohol (bummer)
Started tracking my blood biomarkers (thanks Dr. Taylor)
Got a Whoop and began biohacking (here’s my Whoop referral code)
Started sleeping more (getting a Whoop changed my life)
Greater Life Satisfaction
Spending time in real community (and saying ‘No’ to 90% of things)
Giving myself grace to fail and make mistakes (without fear of judgment)
Meaningfully increasing faith activities (spending more time reading the Bible)
Living in the present (praying + seeing God work in the day-to-day)
WHY THIS MATTERS NOW
Back home for Christmas, I saw my grandparents (who I love dearly).
They are a microcosm of old people in the United States.
I saw them struggling with chronic medical issues—extreme pain, low mobility, debilitating illness, dementia, and loneliness.
I saw a lack of community—spending your last years alone.
I saw a health desert—eating crappy foods, consuming crappy media, and sitting all day in a crappy chair.
It’s not their fault.
Our food is poisonous.
Our education is terrible.
Our work is intense and taxing.
Our cities are not walkable.
Our community is lacking.
Our healthcare system is difficult to navigate (although our doctors + nurses are the best).
Our system sets people up to fail.
I’m working to change my habits—and I’m grateful for community that inspired me to do so.
TRAVELS AND SUCH
January was a busy (but fantastic) month.
I went on a 3-night cruise for Landon’s birthday and saw a part of America that I don’t ever need to see again (middle America + floating boat + free alcohol = crazy).
Lauren took a month off work and we did some travel.
We visited Costa Rica to sync on wedding planning, reflect on 2023, and ponder 2024 (and because we got a sweet points deal at the Andaz Papagayo)
We visited Philly for Lauren’s official business school tour of Wharton (at Penn)
We visited Evanston for Lauren’s official business school tour of Kellogg (at Northwestern)
Let’s brag on Lauren.
This woman is incredible.
I’ve watched her grow 10x in the last few months.
She crushes everything she does and she’s been incredibly supportive.
She’s discerning lots—who she is, what God is calling her to do, and how that translates in terms of career, business school, and community.
And, having a Bain consultant wife means wedding planning is a highly structured process complete with multiple color-coded spreadsheets with custom formulas.
I tried to recruit her for Anavah Talent but apparently our per-diem meals budget is too small and it only covers Costco grass-fed beef.
WHAT’S NEXT
I’ll share next update about where Lauren decides.
But, I can say this much—I never expected to end up in either Berkeley, Chicago or Philly. The three safest cities in the United States!
Let’s see where Lauren decides—I’m proud of her.
