It’s Been a Minute
Hi guys, it's been a while.
The last time I sent this newsletter out was November 1st. And when I hit send on that one, I genuinely had no idea it would be my last for four months. I owe you an explanation—and I'm not going to pretend this was some planned break or strategic sabbatical. The truth is a lot messier than that.
2025 was wild, and I’ve taken you all along the journey of what it entailed. I left my full-time corporate job at Amazon, launched a twice-a-week podcast, and was trying to send this newsletter on a semi-regular cadence. At first, taking a few weeks off from sending the newsletter felt like a natural reset. Then a few more weeks went by. And then I hit an extended pause because of the holidays. And then again, I delayed. And now I’m ready to talk about why: it really comes down to shiny object syndrome.
Here's what I've learned about myself in the nine months since leaving Amazon: I have a pattern of always looking for the next thing. Part of that is just how entrepreneurship works, especially in media. You're supposed to be ahead of trends. You're supposed to be thinking three steps ahead. But somewhere along the way, "staying ahead" turned into "constantly chasing." I was exploring new angles, taking calls about new projects, thinking through what I wanted the next few years to look like—and I lost focus on what was already working. Ironically, by constantly thinking about doing more, more, more, I hit a state of burnout because I was never actually satisfied with what was happening in the present.
After talking to a lot of founder friends, especially in media, I've realized this feeling is very common. Many of us are always feeling like the next opportunity around the corner will be bigger, faster, & shinier than what we’re already doing. And the thing about these shiny objects is that they feel like progress; they’re like quick hits of dopamine. They feel like you're being smart and ambitious and forward-thinking. But most of the time, they're just distraction dressed up as strategy.
So I spent the last few months slowing down to think longer term. I’ve been thinking through what I actually want the next few years to look and feel like. And even though I don’t have all of the answers, I came to a few conclusions.
First: my favorite thing to do (still) is to connect with you guys and create interesting, meaningful conversations around what is happening in the world.
Second: if I am going to continue to dream really, really big (which I am), I needed to get more intentional about where my energy goes.
Third: without giving too much away yet—I found something I'm genuinely very excited about. Something that feels like the right next chapter. I'll be sharing more in my next newsletter.
Going forward, this newsletter is going to evolve a bit. I want it to be more of a founder diary—my brutally honest personal journey about building my businesses, the lessons I'm learning in real time, and of course, the stories I'm obsessing over in media, entrepreneurship, and the intersection of business and culture. I'll be sending it every other week, which feels like a cadence I can actually sustain without disappearing on you again.
Thank you for still being here. Thank you for reading this. I met a bunch of you at Expo West yesterday, and I loved gossiping with you about the latest in the CPG space. It feels like a dream to have such a smart, ambitious community of readers and listeners. So if you want to say hi, just reply to this—I read everything.
Sammi
A Few Resources/Links/Reads
Library of tools for freelancers & creatives (Studioworks Library)
This nonprofit designed to support independent contractors (Freelancers Union)
A list of better icebreaker questions at work (Atlassian)
When using AI Leads to “Brain Fry” (see image below)
Connect With Me
If you liked this newsletter, it would be amazing if you shared it with your family, friends or even a random person that you know loves business, tech & culture news. Link to share here 💌😄
I seriously love chatting with you all; please feel free to send me a note on any of these platforms:
📧 Email: [email protected]
📸 My Instagram, the Social Currency Instagram
🎵 TikTok
P.S. - If you see any typos in this newsletter, know that I did it on purpose a la The New Yorker via their style guide.
