Thank you 2025
Two full-time jobs, two side-projects, one startup, many ups and downs. A reflection on the year that changed my life.
I've never been good at sitting still and being told what to do. This year, I finally stopped pretending I could.
Where it started
Just over a year ago, I started my first grad job as a software engineer at IBM. On the side, I was building 3D Habits - a competition-based habit tracker for groups of friends. In the back of my mind, I always had an itch for startups & businesses. I ran my own tutoring business during college, and turned that into MH1 Tutors, a full blown marketplace. However, I decided to go the "safe" route to start my career.
Six months in, I got an offer to join Susquehanna International Group. Taking the offer meant stepping down from 3D Habits. When you're working with other people, you owe them dedication. I wasn't going to be able to give that while starting at one of the most competitive companies in the world. Stepping down was the right thing to do.
The itch
As I settled into SIG, the startup itch came back. Being around my friend CJ after he left his job to pursue a startup only made it worse. I tinkered with MH1 Tutors, but something bigger was always on my mind.
Then June came. The NDRC was hosting their Founder Weekend hackathon in Galway. I thought it was a coding hackathon, and decided to sign up & see what it's about. Most of my colleagues couldn't make it, so I messaged an old college friend, Manny. The last time we'd spoken was me answering his questions about the SIG interview process.
Three days before Founders Weekend, I ping his LinkedIn: "Bro. What you doing this weekend? Want to do a hackathon?"
He had plans for the weekend, but working together on a project was enough to convince him. Emmanuel cancelled his plans, I convinced the host to let him in, despite missing the deadline to apply, and we got the bus across the country. Two days of being immersed in the startup world & trying to build something from nothing, we ended up winning the NDRC Founders Weekend with "Tradesmate", a voice agent for tradesmen.
No turning back
Before the hackathon, we just wanted to build something cool. Winning showed us there was something real - the idea, our ability, our potential. The itch was getting bigger.
I went to Romania for a week, but when I came back we kept pushing. We reached out to everyone we knew in construction. Talking, validating, explaining. Within weeks, someone agreed to pay us. In the weeks after that, I probably slept eight hours total per week - battling a full-time job and what was now becoming a very real startup.
Then, one random day in July, I received multiple voice messages from Smiley, founder of Gontrel - over ten minutes total. It was like he could see inside my head. The constant pull between a safe big-tech career and the startup I couldn't stop thinking about. Deep down, I knew what I wanted. But sometimes you need someone else to say it to you.
From then, I knew I had to leave my job. I talked to my dad a lot during this time. His advice was simple: whatever you do, make sure you do it with all your heart. Give it 100%.
By August, I had returned to Romania, and the opportunities didn't stop. We renamed Tradesmate to CallCrewAI and got into the NDRC pre-accelerator.
Paid trials and Ireland's best pre-accelerator - the startup itch was now a full-on rash. Leaving my job with no backup plan is scary, however it was constantly on my mind.
Whilst in Romania, I had made up my mind. I called my manager and handed in my notice after just five months. Leaving one of the best companies with no backup plan. It was terrifying.
The rollercoaster
From there, life has been wild. San Francisco. Web Summit Scholar. Multiple YC rejections. Getting people on paid trials. Having no money. Manually answering calls at 4am for our customers. Hearing their positive feedback. And countless more moments. In just three months full time, I've lived an entire life. Now, as I write this during Christmas week, still deep in conversations with large customers, advisors and partners, I look back at 2025 and reflect.
I thank God for all the opportunities, for my family, my girlfriend Laura, and my friends.
2025 was full of ups, full of downs - but I'm glad I took the leap.
If you're reading this:
Dream big, go for it and stop waiting for the perfect moment.
Here's to 2026.