This past year was a mix of everything, from moments of love and joy to hitting rock bottom. From smarter and more seasoned entrepreneurs than myself I know: I am not alone. Things are looking up, though.

A quick recap of last year

Last summer, I lost my father. By Christmas, my grandfather followed him, two years after my grandmother, who had been by his side for 75 years. I found myself giving more funeral speeches than professional ones, becoming far too familiar with saying goodbye. When our beloved dog Chili was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and struggled with daily walks, it was adding to a story that no one likes to hear or tell.

Last week, to mark the lowest point of this emotional ride to the bottom, I had to present a financial restructuring plan to the court to determine whether my business could continue or not. Thankfully, it can. Long story short: we couldn’t sell a house in time as planned and ran out of cash. In the meantime, I turned 50, an age that often demands either stable success or a midlife crisis. Still working on both. Oh, and our 36-year-old VW bus broke down beyond repair. All this happened while raising teenagers who have their own struggles and building a new company (actually several) with my partner and love, an artist who doesn’t exactly choose the easy path either. Neither of us do, nor do we want to. An easy life is a life wasted. I plead not guilty.

This also happened last year

I spent more time in Carinthia, which still feels like home even though I left 30 years ago. We traveled Italy with our camper van for a few months. Our second home. Most of the time, of course, we worked from the van, doing video calls, writing, painting, and enjoying the beach after work. I even did a bit of kitesurfing, realizing I’m no longer in my thirties, but still enjoying it a lot.

Business-wise, this year has been incredibly productive.

With Silicon.Garden, we’ve established a venture builder focused on sustainability. We believe creators and entrepreneurs will solve the big problems of the planet, from climate to education and social change. We want to be part of that. I have met so many incredible people already, that I am confident we will turn this ship around. Some ventures we brought to life this past year include brain.fish, CleanupSocial.com, and EllaEcho.com. With brain.fish, we gamify and optimize otherwise tedious learning tasks for kids, such as multiplication tables, in radically new ways—science-based and human-centric (try it online). With CleanupSocial.com, we inspire conscious lifestyles and climate-friendly behavior without being judgmental. Artists and environmental activists get a platform and funding by promoting social cleanup. You can compensate the CO2 emissions from your vacation with three clicks now. EllaEcho.com, our latest venture, is an avatar-driven and AI-based sustainability platform for businesses, providing essential, up-to-date data across organizational boundaries. Since 80% of sustainability-related decisions are made during design, imagine what can be achieved with instant access to insights from the entire ecosystem. And, crazy enough, we’ve also opened an eco-friendly holiday home in Carinthia after only two months of preparation and were already fully booked this summer.

We have even invented a new way of inventing things: The Venture Sprint.

Silicon.Garden is the venture builder behind all of this. We continue to advise companies on developing new, sustainable businesses and solutions, with our Venture Sprint being our primary innovation and contribution to sustainable, agile change in businesses of all sizes. The Venture Sprint is my personal contribution and path forward for all venturers out there. Building ventures is inherently uncertain. Take small steps. Try things out. Test thoroughly (Learn more here).

Then there’s the extra fun bit at work that glues everything together.

Quite a bit of exploratory community work has been done as well. We’ve explored VR as a new workspace with Mad Sabine Madritsch and even started a new meetup group for VR facilitators. We are convinced that our physical and digital experiences will blend more in future and location will matter even less than it does today. The digital world is borderless. May our minds be so too. You can already up-skill for VR and try out the future of work here (VR-Sprint).

An important prerequisites for all of the above .. our resilience and mental health

Soon, we’ll hold a session on psychological safety with Gitte Klitgaard. Believe me, this past year has taught me many lessons, and I feel well equipped not only to turn things around but also to share my experiences and maybe give others the confidence that, in the end, everything will be fine, as long as you stay safe and healthy, which ultimately, is our own responsibility.

All of this happened in the past year, and honestly, never before has my life felt so productive and impactful. If it weren’t for the financial hiccup caused by our inability to sell the property on time, this would be the perfect time to celebrate.

I am looking forward to starting a super productive autumn, delivering all those great things to our customers. And we will.

What I have learned so far

• Public institutions are unaware of individual circumstances and follow protocol. These protocols can sometimes escalate an already difficult situation to the max. Running a 1–5 person business is hard enough; governmental red tape makes it harder. I’m no expert in public policy, but I’m certain institutions should help, not hinder. As such they should be the last to drag you to court, not the first as so often. Especially when sufficient assets are available to cover the bills. It does not seem right.

• On the other hand, we have received lots of help and understanding from family, friends, and colleagues in a situation we wish no-one to be in. Even our landlord actively supported us.

• Also, once you hit rock bottom, it’s great to know you live in Europe, where you’ll always have food, a roof over your head, and medical insurance. Even though I’m confident we’ll sell the house soon and resolve the cash issues, it’s still comforting to live in a society that won’t abandon you in tough times but instead helps you get back on your feet.

• Last but not least I have learned: Selling an old but lovely house is hard. Few people still know how to do things themselves. Most rely 100% on professionals, which makes it more expensive than it should be. That house was built by my grandfather 80 years ago with his own hands. It’s made of wood, and anyone with a bit of talent could fix everything by themselves. Yet, society sees it as trash, and for many, the most viable financial option is to dump it. It’s a perfect example of how sustainability is a multifaceted issue. Preserving what already exists, especially when it’s beautiful and functional, should always be more affordable than building something new and wasting resources. There’s a lot of work to be done.

So, to everyone worried about the necessity of coming up with a restructuring plan: We’re fine. A lot of people are helping. Eventually, we’ll sell the house at a reasonable price. It’s actually quite reassuring that the process is now being handled by the court, ensuring everything is done fairly. The best option, of course, would be to grow our business as fast as possible and save the house from being sold and potentially destroyed.

We’re on it. Lots is happening. We'll keep you posted.

All the best,

grab a Limoncello,

Michael

P.S.: Thanks for taking the time. You’re awesome, and I greatly appreciate your support. One day, this will make a great story for fuckupnights.com, but first, we’ll continue crafting the happy ending.