Hector Hughes (#040)
No one cares. And that’s an incredibly empowering realisation.
Company: Unplugged
Headcount: 5
Stage: Seed
Tell us your story
Getting a job at a start-up saved me.
Up until that point I was a bit of a reprobate if I’m being honest. I was very fortunate to make it through University with an ok degree. But utterly unprepared for what came next.
Rejected from a bunch of grad schemes I stumbled into a sales job at Nobly POS- an early stage tech start-up. The next three years were a blast. We grew from 10 to 70 people and opened offices in the US and Australia.
I turned out to be a woeful salesman. After a fruitless year I moved on to manage the product. Wasn't much better at that but somehow earned the chance to run Growth. One more year there, still fairly useless. And then, in 2019, I burnt out.
Three years into Nobly and I loved the thrill of it. But something was missing. Seeing this a friend recommended a silent retreat in the Himalayas. I laughed this off. I can’t do that. I thought. What would everyone at work think? But, after some time, I got myself out there. It was life changing. The retreat was 10 days at a Buddhist temple on top of a mountain. Truly amazing. The best thing? When you arrive they take your phone off you and you spend 10 days cut off from the outside world. Nailing the cliché I came home and quit my job a week later.
Time for a change.
That decision came off the back of a conversation with Ben. We'd worked together at Nobly and stayed friends. Ben is not the kind of guy you’ll find at a silent retreat anytime soon. We spoke about how there’s still so much stigma around retreats and meditation. So much of the benefit is just getting people offline and into nature.
From there Unplugged was born: digital detoxes at off-grid cabins an hour from city life. Two years in and we have 11 cabins and have helped over a thousand people switch off.
Tell us a story that has really resonated with you
There’s a wonderful little story in ‘Bird by Bird’ by Anne Lamott. Apologies, Anne, if I butcher it but here goes:
Her brother, as a child, had to write a school report on a group of birds.
He put the project off again and again until the night before it was due.
Overwhelmed, he burst into tears. How am I going to get it done by tomorrow? He wailed.
Their Father sat down to comfort him, and said:
Just take it bird by bird buddy, bird by bird.
I love the story because it’s so relevant for life as a founder. There’s always so much going on that it can be overwhelming. But there’s always a way through: just take it bird by bird.
What can't you stop thinking about?
The next step for humanity. This sounds grandiose, I know. But every time a new technology comes along, it rewrites the way our brains work. The invention of clocks led us to view time mechanically, in units rather than a continuous flow. The written world drastically improved our ability to think deeply about an issue. The internet and social media marks another evolution.
We’re now seeing the first generation emerge from a childhood of constant social media use. There are some serious issues - skyrocketing depression and anxiety for one. But undoubtedly some good will come of it too. It always does.
Socrates was extremely vocal against the written world. Convinced we’d lose something precious cultivated by an oral culture. I’m as big a fan of reading as anyone but perhaps to some extent he’s right.
I’d be foolish for thinking this time it’s different. It never is. History rhymes.
If I could tell you just one thing...
No one cares.
And that’s an incredibly empowering realisation. Everyone is far too busy worrying about themselves to care what you’re doing. So do that thing you’re worried about. No one will care as much as you think.
I used to be very self-conscious. I’m a chronic people pleaser and for years I wasn’t living life on my terms. The retreat got me out of it. But I still remember how hard it is.
A little space for shoutouts
Gosh, tough one. So many people. I’ll use this space to shoutout my cofounder, Ben Elliott. The start-up you build is drastically changed by who you do it with. I’m incredibly grateful I’ve ended up building Unplugged with Ben.
If you could get a warm intro to anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
I’d have to say Patrick Collison. What a guy. He’d certainly have a good perspective for the “what’s next for humanity” conundrum.
I’m a huge fan of genuine humility. Listen to an interview with Patrick and there isn’t an ounce of ego. Lovely to see.