What Do You Want?

Greetings, skin microbiome enthusiasts!

I have written before about the different ways to fund a startup and why “how much does it cost” is often the wrong question. Today I want to talk about a different question — one that every entrepreneur, and honestly every person, needs to sit with: What do you want?

It took me a while to get clear on my own answer. But when I did, it looked like this:

I want to stay busy. I want to use my knowledge toward something meaningful — helping others, solving big problems. And I want to build real wealth. I am saying that out loud because I think it is a healthy thing to say. For me, wealth is not an end in itself. It is freedom — freedom to support women entrepreneurs, to invest in companies I believe in, to help my community, to live fully, and to do more of what I already love doing.

That clarity was a big reason I started Fafabiotic. I wanted to build something from A to Z, with my name and signature on it, and create a path toward the financial freedom that would let me do all of the above. And I did it. We have paying customers, returning customers, and a company I am genuinely proud of — one that, as I have shared before, now runs itself without my day-to-day involvement.

But here is the honest part. Because Fafabiotic is intentionally small — no VC money, no aggressive expansion — it is not yet at the point where it generates the income I need to sustain myself without additional investment. So earlier this year, I started looking for a full-time job. Something fulfilling. Something where I could use my expertise toward important problems. Something that also pays.

And I found it. This week, I joined the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State University as their Operations and Partnerships Manager. I will be working with university and industry partners, supporting workforce development, and helping build a center that is both operationally strong and genuinely respected in the alternative protein world.

Here is the thing though. It was bittersweet.

Part of me thought: if I had a longer runway, or had taken a different approach with Fafabiotic, would I ever have looked for a job? And I will be honest — there was a moment when looking for a job felt like failure. Like I had not quite made it as a founder.

But I know that is not true. I built exactly what I set out to build. And I got exactly what I wanted.

In fact, this position at the Bezos Center is something I have wanted for ten years — long before Fafabiotic even existed. And yet, even when you get what you want, you question it. Is this what I actually want, or is this what my circumstances are pushing me toward?

My honest answer, if I set aside what anyone else might think: this is exactly what I want. I want to stay busy. I want to use my expertise toward something that matters. And this role lets me continue building Fafabiotic exactly the way I want — as a small, owner-led business, no VC, no pressure. When the time comes that it grows into something mid-sized, I will bring people in. But right now, I have what I want.

So my question for you is simple: What do you want?

Not what your situation is pushing you toward. Not what others expect. What do you actually want — when you get quiet, set the noise aside, and answer honestly?

Keep asking yourself that question. Get clear on it. And then go build toward it.

Until next blog, cheers.