What are we doing it for?

Ok, so the past two weeks really got into my head. Working through them I just kept coming back to two simple points. Why? What are you doing it for? I’m not getting into the reasons why I’ve had so much angst but they should be self evident. What I want to talk about today is, why are we really doing any of it? Because quite frankly, I don’t really give a fuck anymore. So here’s what I’m about. Learning, studying, growth through application. It’s the reason I left sales when I was wildly successful. It’s the reason I left b2b products, turning down an opportunity to lead the America’s gtm for a multi-national manufacturing brand. It’s why I launched my first startup, failed and created a marketing practice (as fractional CMO). It all felt like a good way to continue to learn and grow. Marketing to me is the science of relationships, with a dash of analytics and (increasingly) a strong base of development and automation. None of this shit has been easy. None of this shit would be doable for most, and my priviledge has always been due to a strong, smart, driven partner who has supported my transitions and businesses. Sometimes she’s cast a pretty dubious glance (I see you social commerce startups and 2 cycles solely working on institutional crypto), but she’s always supported my business.

She’s celebrated the profitable months and helped me through the lean pivots and stages of growth. So it’s easy to say, I owe a debt to my wife. But, there’s more.

We had dated only a few months when we found out that she had cancer, as part of a genetic disease, and she would never live without it. My wife has VHL, a rare disorder who’s victims are missing the dna markers that stop abnormal cellullar growth. In laymens terms, her body doesn’t recognize cancer and as such, is unable to fight it. This diagnosis changed our lives, and I can only speak for my view.When I saw this person, who I knew already was my partner for life, recieve this news everything clarified. I would live our life together as full and focused, as hard as possible, until time runs out. So I think, yeah, I’m doing it for the fam. But the honest truth is, she has given me everything I need; the support, the love, and the opportunity to make what I can in my life.

Coming into 2025, I’ve been taking the growth of ‘24 and throwing gasoline on the fire. This month Rising Tides passed 11 employees, with 6 active clients, we’re consistently in double digit MRR and 72% of our clients continue to retain, past Q1. All year long I haven’t taken a salary, I’ve reinvested in the business, growing headcount and marketing. This week I made an exception, I went out of pocket to buy my wife something extraordinary. For the rest of the year, we’re doing it all for Kim. I’ll use my skills to provide a moment that we and our kids will share for the rest of our lives. I hope that whatever you’re doing, you’re enjoying it and doing it for something that inspires you. Let’s close out this year strong, and….Kim, I’ll love you.-Grady