Me with my team, shortly after winning IoT Startup of the Year 2019
Burn the Ships
See, that’s the thing about doing the easy thing…
Nothing changes. Simple. But after waking up in the better-sweet haze of easy one too many times, I knew that something had to give. I weighed my options. Holding up my left hand, I held a future of least resistance. Holding up my right, I held the feeling that something better was out there, yet I had no idea what that was or how to reach. So this is what they meant by damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
So, I decided to tell my friends, family, and business partners that I would be right back. That I was just going to take a quick spin around the way and clear my head. “See you again in 30 days” I vividly remember saying.
My childhood friend. She was a Yoga teacher in India, and I had my target. So I packed my backpack with my laptop and just enough to get by, and bought a ticket to the Himalayan mountains of northern India. I was off to explore a curious quest, which upon arrival rapidly evolved into a full-blown dedication to the practice and study of classical Hatha & Kundalini Yoga. Wow, that sure escalated quickly.
India had me in her grips, and I quickly began to realize that there was no going back. That the only way out was forward.
Time to burn the ships.
Sell Out To Life
My Ikigai- I am a Technology Startup Evangelist & Obsessive Creator. Globally I have launched ventures and led technical and non-technical teams across India, Portugal, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, & the USA. My passion for mentoring, promoting, & unifying entrepreneurs and thought-leaders within a given community is unparalleled.
As a USA Delegate & International Keynote, I have facilitated lectures, summits, & workshops at TEDx, universities, corporations, & conferences around the world. I have taken multiple startups to market, taken a few rewarding exits, and managed numerous high-yielding organizations within tech, digital media, health & wellness, education, online travel, & hospitality.
Currently my time is spent between my home(s) in India, where I serve as Strategic Advisor and Chairman to the global Agriculture Technology enterprise I founded; Colorado, where I often recess to spend time with friends and family; and Portugal, where I serve as Global VP of Product for a Multinational Corporation.
Delivering my keynote talk to a room of Digital Nomads- TEDx spinoff Converge Forum. Koh Phangan, Thailand
And as leisure is the critical component to my creative process, I ensure the moments away from my desk replenish my mind, body, soul. Surfing or running is where I can be found most days as my spirit’s home is outdoors. On-snow since forever, I have served as both a sponsored snowboarder, & coach for a professional snowboard team. And as shall always be true, my stillness remains firmly rooted in the practice and study of Classical Yoga.
Om Shanti Om
Until 2015, I had largely defined myself by professional pursuits- growing start-ups, operating restaurants, launching a few tech platforms, and consulting others to realize their business dreams. Full power. I was fulfilled in many ways. Comforts of a modern western life and lots of nice stuff to keep me company. A nice safe life of minimized risk.
But my body, mind and spirit were catching a serious beat down. And although I had never really traveled outside of the US, I felt something greater than myself was waiting for me out there. In looking back at that moment, I am reminded of the story where a porter of Machu Picchu was asked if he ever got tired of climbing the mountain, carrying upon his back the loads of out-of-shape westerners. His reply- “No. I never feel as if I am laboring my way up from the bottom. Rather I feel the spirits of the mountain pulling me forward & upwards to the top.” That guy is gangster.
When I left Colorado in 2015, my plane ticket told me my hiatus was only a 30 day round-trip. However, my first day in Rishikesh told me otherwise. As I sat on the bank of the Ganges for the first time and felt her energy pulsing through me, in that moment I was overcome with sense of peace I had yet to know. I could for the first time feel myself being pulled forward- upwards toward something completely unknown yet deeply familiar.
My Christmas Eve 2015 sunset on Koh Phangan.
And in India, I assumed the role of student with one simple goal- to evolve. And like many before me traveling to the East from the West in search of meaning, I began unlocking unknown aspects of my true, deep-seeded Love for Life.
I spent my days losing myself while discovering the magic-potential hidden deep within my sadhana. Amidst the sensory overload of India, the practice and study of Yoga quickly became a perfect technology for living a perfect 24.
I spent my days conversing at unassuming cafes. Surrounded by aspiring Yogis from all over the world, it felt amazing to be the the minority as an American. I can directly recount absorbing the powerful energies of Israel, South Africa, Hungry, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Norway, Australia, UK, Columbia, Estonia, Sweden, Italy, and Venezuela. I felt as a member of the world community. A feeling now, that can never subside.
Having long missed my flight back to Colorado, I was led from India to Thailand. I could certainly go on and on about my time in Thailand- graduating from a 2 year course in classical Yoga, endless days spent in cafes, endless nights spent on the beach, lecturing to digital nomads, and planting the seeds for what would become my future companies. And share into how Thailand then led to Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia. However I will save the save the page and simply share my video below.
1,000 Day MBA
India Then.
Although I had left behind business as I was accustomed to it in the west, in India it did not take long for me to naturally begin providing value to others in many ways. And I found the lessons learned while diving deep into the practice and study of Yoga, were directly transmutable into bringing my business acumen into greater focus.
As an act of volunteer service to my Yoga school, I developed their digital channels of distribution, and created a new web property with redefined underlying platform logic. I began lending my time to others who wished to follow their dreams- with services ranging from personal business coaching, to building websites and other digital solutions. The Yogic Yamas and Niyamas all the while keeping my shots into the world, on a calibrated line of sight.
In parallel, I began building the foundations for what would become EYC Labs- a venture focused on bringing modernized technologies to rural agriculture markets.
Thailand.
While spending time between India and Koh Phangan, Thailand’s startup rich environment, I continued lending value to businesses and individuals alike. I co-founded (another) vegan & vegetarian restaurant. In a community teeming with tech-savvy digital nomads, I continued sharing my experiences through lectures, workshops, and consulting. And along my travels, I eventually accepted a role as VP of Product for a multinational technology company. This dream opportunity has allowed me to continue honing my craft as a creator, while traveling the world as a tireless seeker.
India Again.
I did not know it at the time, but 2015 marked the beginning of my 1000 day MBA. From India Then to India Now, my passion for creating has been reignited as I have been led full-circle. Adopting my role as a Founder & CEO has allowed me the perfect luxury of simultaneously growing products for clients, while exercising my own creative concepts.
A number of remarkable products have been engineered, each with countless underlying features. I am finding art in the process of evolving functional requirements into governing technical specs. Optimize! Everything! By means of an agile path of self-development, I daily feel myself transitioning from acting the part, to embodying the role. Joyfully oscillating between the maker, and the manager. Manifesting Form From Scratch as I tend to say...
We’ve built a global AgriTech enterprise which is helping to solve real-world problems in emerging agricultural markets.
We’ve built the world’s first and only set of technologies which serve in the loss prevention, tracking, and recovery of smartphones.
I am mentoring within entrepreneur accelerators at a number of the country's top engineering Universities, lecturing and hosting workshops regularly, and of course, sharing my love of Yoga.
I have been granted a role as a USA Delegate to both the Indian and Nepalese governments on behalf of modernizing those country’s agriculture sectors by implementing future-state technologies.
And most recently, I have cofounded the world’s first and only institution which facilitates the study and practice, of the arts and sciences of classical Non Dual Siva Tantra and Yoga.
Growth.
I’ve grown my family. I’ve lost brothers. War is crazy. Life is beautiful. But I just keep moving as I am constantly reminded of what a brilliant Chef once said to me, “You’re only as good your last plate”.
I’m learning how to shoot quickly, framed by the why wisdom of my previous wins and losses. Ready. Fire. Aim. Repeat. Going on adventures. Doing hard things. I’m learning that creating real value stems only from a steadfast commitment to the moment, without a plan B to fall back on. Safety net = half-measure.
So I set out. Sail. Land. Then, to fucking commit with no way back, I…
Burn the ships.
My INSTAGRAM @htmarshall38
