From Midlife Crisis to Mission-Driven Business

Man needs purpose.

I didn’t have one. Just some health issues. I hadn’t connected the dots yet. I satisfied my sweet cravings without second thoughts and was not really familiar with the word fiber. 

I worked a job that paid well and gave me full freedom in terms of where I worked from. 

Everything came together to go and explore the world and myself in it. 

I had no idea I was looking for a purpose, and yet found one in South America.

Cooking and healthy eating were things I kept putting off for “some day.” I thought I didn’t have the time and money to be busy with such luxurious aspirations. 

All that changed as I travelled and worked as a digital nomad through Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico. 

I travelled on a budget—hostels, cheap Airbnbs, Couchsurfing. I could not ignore what I saw any longer: people making fabulous, healthy dishes out of the cheapest plant based ingredients. 

The aha moment hit me in Costa Rica: I visited a Cocoa plantation where they made bean to bar chocolate and I realized that packaged food does not necessarily need to be filled with additives, enhancers and all the rest. It can be simply made out of pure ingredients. Why wasn’t all packaged food made like this? 

The food industry felt ripe for disruption.

And for once, I felt ready to jump in—with a purpose.

My co-founder, David, was instrumental in creating Viblance—a company that started with granola and is becoming something so much more.

Nearly a decade later, I’m still here. Still building. Still trying to figure out how to scale a mission-driven business in a peculiar market without losing myself in the process.

And failing at that.
And starting again.

And keeping at it.

My number one project right now is stepping back from daily operations and making more space for reflection—and for sharing some of what I’ve learned (and unlearned) along the way.

Not how-to posts.
Not success stories.

Just raw thoughts from someone who’s been in it long enough to know: clarity is rare, trade-offs are constant, vitality is tied to purpose, and balance sometimes includes long hours.