How I Got Here: From almost failing out of college to becoming a serial entrepreneur

The founder of MicroAcquire on realizing he has no wants

Andrew Gazdecki had one goal as he was preparing to graduate college: to not have a job.

Instead of a “job,” Andrew wanted to be an entrepreneur and grow something that he himself built. At this stage in his career, Andrew was primarily motivated by money – he viewed entrepreneurship as a pathway to a life that he didn’t have growing up and one that he wanted to provide to his family. After almost failing out of college, Andrew ultimately succeeded. His first company was acquired and he suddenly had the power to buy whatever he wanted.

In that moment, Andrew had a realization: he had no wants. In working towards his goal of making money, Andrew fell in love with the process itself. In his own words, he loves playing startup. In this conversation, hear how Andrew got to the place many dream of – selling a company and not having financial wants – and then figured out what to do next.

Listen to our full interview with Andrew Gazdecki here.

Stay up to date on all of our latest episodes by following us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

---

Mind the Beet

We recently discovered Mind the Beet, a blog and newsletter for “21st century grown-ups," which has stories and reflections on careers, parenting, and more. Here’s an excerpt from one of their recent posts, authored by Helen Harmetz, on her reflections from 15 years in the workforce across three different careers (in politics, marketing, and product):

“My journey is quite different – more of a walk with a machete through the jungle than a path up a ladder and I’ve loved every part of it. Since graduating from college in 2004, I’ve gone from a career in politics, to marketing to product with an MBA and 2 kids in between. And of course, in every “career” I’ve had, there were so many stories of growth and opportunity that I’m forever grateful to have experienced.”  

Check out Helen’s full piece here.

---

1:1 Career Chats

Finally, we made How I Got Here to help people navigate their own careers. But sometimes listening to episodes of the podcast isn’t enough.

We're opening a small number of slots to chat with people who want to make sense of their own career journey. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to be able to achieve clarity and understand the right new path.

We're happy to share what we've learned through our own careers and our many conversations with others.

Sign up here