Thoughts on leaving Somos: Compounding in a Chaotic Life

I chose a chaotic energy, highly volatile life. I moved to Colombia. I invest in Crypto and leveraged business companies like SoftBank. I work at Startups and have founded 2 small businesses.

So while unplanned, it’s not entirely unexpected that after 3.5 years of dedicating myself to building Somos Internet, I have now left the company.

I told J in January that I feel that the natural rhythm for my life is “3-4 years all in, 3-4 months off”. I didn’t think that was going to apply to Somos, though.

At the time, compounding was the whole thesis: go slow, let the gains stack, and don’t get ahead of myself. I wrote in my year in review, 2024:

Compounding in careers is as real as in investing, and I have been playing catchup with peers in 2024, having started my 3rd professional act from scratch during 2023. So what I don’t want to do is rush things. Steady progress that compounds is the name of the game now, and not thinking about subsequent chapters prematurely. It’s not very much my style, but it’s what I’ve got to do.

And yet, here I am in mid-2026, having left Somos and writing about what comes next. I’ve taken a bit of time to reflect, and I’m actually OK with it. Maybe even better than OK.

While Somos is a rocket ship, post-Series B I found myself in the position of the discarded booster: a vital component to getting to orbit and overcoming max Q, but superfluous to the second stage’s continued journey into space. A new CFO who brought in his own team, an emboldened COO, and my misguided lateral move into a “Chief of Staff” role that was neither well defined nor respected by the company decision makers meant that the writing was on the wall for Ross’ time at Somos. I own the responsibility for my departure.

(At the risk of over-doing the analogy, I do at least consider myself a fully, rapidly reusable Starship booster that can be refueled and relaunched.)

I reached my ceiling at Somos. Forrest knew that, and I now know that. Leaving was the only way to climb to higher heights. But I will be forever grateful to Somos because the experiences I take from scaling, fundraising, and building a disruptive business model will serve me incredibly well in my life and in my next opportunity. My internal and public track record, and Somos’s growth during my tenure have helped my “currency” to appreciate, so leaving Somos is actually the best route in order to continue compounding my career.

My experience at JPM in NYC is now serving me in ways I never originally anticipated. My experiences with Mesa Salvaje have made me the empathy-led people-manager I am today with a ruthlessness about making tough, necessary decisions to strengthen a core business. My experiences at Somos will similarly serve me throughout the course of my professional life.

The world has changed dramatically in the 3.5 years since I joined Somos, and while in many ways it is a more uncertain world, that uncertainty and chaos is where I thrive. High agency, intellectual curiosity, and a willingness to build publicly and ship fast are being more rewarded in the age of AI than maybe any other time in history.

I’m now refueled and ready to relaunch.

Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino,
sino estelas en la mar.

— Antonio Machado