October 2025 Update

Note: Below is the first email I sent to people who subscribed to my updates.

I called LinkedIn a “cesspool of grifters” and LinkedIn loved it so much that it showed the post to over 110K people. It was meant to be a small update for friends and ex-colleagues.

Instead, my inbox blew up with hundreds of messages from people I’ve never met. I tried to reply to everyone, but figured I’d answer the most common questions here and send my first update.

The Business

By far the most common question: what business did you acquire?

It’s called Women Travel Tribe.

Started six years ago by an incredible founder who built a real community of women travelers. When she decided to step back, a good friend who’s in the travel space reached out. He knew I’d recently left Amazon and was open to something new.

Four months later, here we are. Last year I was leading deeply technical AI projects at Amazon. Now I’m helping these amazing women explore the world and build lifelong friendships. 

It’s been a fun and surprisingly fulfilling shift.

Why Southeast Asia?

“You mentioned SE Asia has more upside than Europe and North America. What did you mean?”

I’ll write a full post about this next. Choosing Southeast Asia was easy; choosing a city wasn’t. There are just so many good options in this part of the world.

I’ve spent time in both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur and here are my first impressions → eric.fun/bkk-kl

What I’m Up to Now

I still don’t have a long-term visa for Thailand. I had to renew my Canadian passport first, which took a couple of months to get an embassy appointment and receive it.

Now that it’s sorted, I’m applying for Thailand’s Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), a 5-year visa that allows flexible long stays. To apply, I need to be outside of Thailand, so I’m spending this week in Kuala Lumpur catching up with friends and doing my annual medical checkups. Next week I’m heading to Da Nang, Vietnam, where I’ll submit my DTV application while enjoying the beautiful beach.

Stuff I’ve Liked Recently

🎧 Podcast: Daniel Ek (Spotify founder) with David Senra: I’d heard of Daniel Ek but never listened to a long-form interview. It’s remarkable what he built with Spotify, competing from Sweden against American giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon. His clarity and humility stood out. I want to learn more about how he thinks.

📚 Book: Unreasonable Hospitality: Recommended by my business partner. It’s about Will Guidara’s journey running Eleven Madison Park, one of the world’s top restaurants. The core idea: hospitality isn’t just meeting expectations. It’s creating unforgettable, unreasonable moments. A perfect mindset for what we’re building at Women Travel Tribe.

🎬 Movie: One Battle After Another: My friend Brian suggested we explore Bangkok movie theaters. I forgot how much I enjoy the theater experience. The movie was great, loved the intensity, fast-pace, storyline, and the impressive cast. I’ll rewatch it soon.

You’re getting this because you probably saw my LinkedIn post. My LinkedIn account is now gone. I wrote about it here → My LinkedIn Goodbye Went Viral

Thanks for following along. This is the first update I’ve ever sent. Hit reply and tell me what you liked (or didn’t).

-Eric