2023 was a very good year. The likes of which I haven’t lived for a good while, at least since I moved to Colombia in 2018.
There are 2 trajectory altering highlights to 2023, and many small moments I hope to cherish for years to come. If fighting for and then accepting a job at Somos was the plunge that put me back into the “real world” and gave me a new outlook on life, it was the subsequent connection with J that then convinced me that 2023 really had become a special year. At the end of 2022 I wrote that “my next chapter is about to start”, and so it has been, but so much better than I could have hoped for.
It could have gone wrong in many ways. I’ve been robbed at gunpoint (RIP Rolex) and Somos could’ve been bankrupt within 9 months of my arrival. But in 2023 Ross Garlick knows he is able to accomplish remarkable things, and he intends to keep doing so in 2024.
Professionally, I am closing 2023 having signed and received wires for a $4.9mm Series A round for Somos and actively working to close the underlying $30mm forward flow financing agreement that will represent Somos’s primary source of funding for at least the next 2 years. It’s kinda crazy, as is everything ran by Forrest at Somos, but it also kinda looks like it might work. It’s been daunting but equally rewarding being on the other side of the table negotiating equity docs and credit agreements to my time at JPM. Our lawyers say they’ve never seen a deal so complicated for a Company at this stage in its lifecycle, and I had previously warned Forrest that the complexity might overwhelm us. But as I sit here in December, we are 90% of the way to getting this thing done and we have worked through the complexity (at massive legal expense, but still).
It’s insane and my January-February will be crazy as we try and get the facility operational while also going through our first audit, and simultaneously trying to launch both in a new market and a new line of business, but the Ross of 2023 has learned that anything is possible with steadfastness and an attitude that any obstacle can be overcome with continually exerted pressure and the right forms of leverage.
That new attitude has been the single most important thing I have learned from my boss and friend, Forrest Heath. In the space of 9 months he has shown me at least 4 or 5 times that things that I thought (or someone at Somos thought) impossible are actually 100% achievable. He’s an incredible techno-optimist who backs up his impressive salesmanship with knowledge and the curiosity of an engineer who can’t rest until they find the solution. Reading the Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson this year (which I don’t recommend), my biggest takeaway is that Elon’s success is in large part due to a combination of first principles thinking (ie. engineering curiosity) and a willingness to push himself and his team harder and longer than anyone else. Forrest isn’t quite as militant as Elon, but there’s a similar “force of nature” element to the way he applies himself to the challenge in front of him, be it a networking or fundraising problem. I want to become a formidable force of nature in 2024, building on this deal to go win more deals and make Somos a $100mm+ business within a year.
Mesa Salvaje & Pizza Paraiso are both alive and kicking, but it’s been a tough year for both places. I’ve chosen to reinvest in Mesa because I still believe it has something special to offer, and has shown sufficient profitability in the past to warrant a rejuvenation. Pizza is unlikely to last another year, which is sad but the writing was on the wall even a year ago and this year hasn’t moved the needle enough to warrant continued reinvestment and support. I will try and find a buyer for the pizzeria because with the right love and care it could be a real business, but if not I might have to pull the plug before the middle of the year in order to focus. I have not been at all mentally invested in the restaurants since I agreed to go full time at Somos, and it has unfortunately been to their detriment. I know that Mesa can re-find its footing and thrive again (the place is still beautiful and the food and coffee are still amazing), and hopefully in 2024 I’ll be writing words to that effect.
The other major reason I haven’t been as focused on the restaurants, even when I’ve been in Bogotá, has been my relationship with J which began in late July at a magical finca in Anapoima which was full of good energy and a great group of friends. J has been a friend for years and a close friend since we went to the coast together last year. I’ve always found her incredibly attractive and as I’ve gotten to know her better I came to know an incredibly caring woman whose outward confidence belies a vulnerability that, combined with her great dancing and fun-to-be-with personality, had me head over heels for her. In Anapoima the energy felt right and fortunately she felt the same way. The subsequent 5 months have been nothing short of a whirlwind romance. I don’t want to tempt fate, so for now I will just say that I feel incredibly fortunate and excited about the future in a way I haven’t for many years. J isn’t just any woman.
Although technically not a NYE dinner, I felt as though my entire year came together nicely as Mum & Dad and J visited Medellín to get to know each other and we had a wonderful dinner in the private room at Sambombi with Forrest, his wife Paula, and his Mom and sister. Family, Love, and Work altogether. It felt like the perfect celebration to end this remarkable year, and also about what is to come. It felt like the start of the next chapter.
I couldn’t write about this year without also recognizing the two epic family trips that bookended everything that happened inbetween. A 5 star cruise in the Galapagos in late Jan and then a 5 star all inclusive trip to Grenada in the Caribbean just as I closed the equity piece of the Somos Series A were truly wonderful. The snorkeling in the Galapagos was out of this world, and Grenada felt like the first chance to properly unwind in 9+ months, and I enjoyed doing nothing for a few days on the spectacular Grand Anse Beach. I definitely feel closer to my family now than I have in many years, which is another pillar of what has made 2023 a memorable year.
I don’t want to ruminate too much about 2024. There are elections in the US, UK, and Venezuela. AI is going to start actually infiltrating products that we use. Starship will be flying to the Moon. I have a year of weddings again (4 as of right now) after only 1 local wedding last year. And I expect to work very hard and try and build on this new foundation from which I’m currently standing. I want to make my health more of a priority (less diet coke, less beer, less bread, more burpees and more running), and I want to find a work-life balance that I can sustain for the next few years to come. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m so excited about it.
Ross’s best of 2023:
Books: I’m just finishing The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway and it is an absolute gem. The depiction of Paris and Pamplona in the 20’s is just magical, and makes me want to travel with friends more, dance more, and be in nature more. I didn’t love the Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson, I thought it was only telling half the story a lot of the time, as though it had been censored. I did enjoy reading about John Malone’s rise to power with Liberty Media in Cable Cowboys, a story that has served as inspiration for the Somos leadership team.
TV: Succession and The Bear are both majestic, gut wrenching TV shows. Succession Season 4 was absolutely incredible drama, some of the best I’ve ever seen, and in coinciding with my arrival as the full time CFO of Somos, the soundtrack formed the basis of my transition to a more confident professional. The Bear hit home very hard and knew exactly how to tug at the heart strings, also related to the interplay between family and work but in a very different setting. I also began watching The Sopranos and totally understand why it is considered one of the greatest shows ever. Will likely finish it in 2024.
Food: I wasn’t quite as adventurous this year in my restaurants, and in fact I did more cooking than I have ever done, as well as a lot of ordering on Rappi. But Sambombi in Medellin served me probably the two most memorable meals of the year, and Le Manoir in the UK added to the list of michelin star establishments I’ve visited, although the food wasn’t the highlight of the experience, rather the place, the service, the wine, and the atmosphere. Nothing in Bogotá really impressed me this year.
Specific Memories: Snorkeling with sea lions at Champion Island in the Galapagos; the murder mystery game and the flawed sunrise timelapse at the first finca in Anapoima; meeting Forrest at Sambombi; bus rides to Medellín before I felt comfortable buying flights; the first dinner in Villa De Leyva at Easter; the period of weekly BNOs from April-July; seeing Oppenheimer on the IMAX screen; the first yoga on the balcony of my Medellín apto; making shakshuka with Forrest and Paula; buying my ebike and finding my morning commute; my first date with J and how she looked that night; my second date with her the following night; Adventure Day; karaoke nights at KB; horseriding in El Retiro; dinner and drinks with James from Architect; signing docs for the Equity raise at the Somos Christmas party; the Catamaran day in Grenada; dinner with J, Forrest, and the parents in Medellín.
Ross Rambles 