The Distill - The Long Game

Fortune favors the bold.

Chase opportunity. Take risks. Move to the big city. Follow your dreams. We hear this story all the time—and we applaud it.

You’ll see shades of that here. But there’s another version we rarely talk about.

The kind of ambition that stays put. That plants roots. Commits to a place.

It’s quieter. Harder. But maybe more worthwhile.

Today's piece follows DRL’s path to Louisville—and why he’s choosing to build it up instead of moving on. It’s a story rooted in the immigrant mentality that built America:

Put down roots and bet everything on where you planted them.

“I will either find a way or make one.” — Hannibal

My parents were immigrants. They escaped communism and searched for opportunity. They still remember their first McDonald cheeseburger, they were so poor they had to split it. It was the best meal they ever had. 

On their journey they moved to Japan, Nashville (had me), Belgium (my brother) before finally settling in Naperville, IL. America is the land of opportunity. America is where they wanted to raise their family.

We worked hard. We had a good home, good public school education and two cars. We achieved the American dream. A dream defined not by one’s achievements but by the achievements given to the next generation. My parents gave me the best opportunity in the world to achieve my dreams.

I attended Yale University, not with a silver spoon but by sheer work ethic and determination. From there the rest was history…or that’s what is expected. You would think investment banking, then private equity / consulting. And maybe in another life that would be me…I’d be a bigger asshole than I already am.

I graduated in 2009. The previous summer I interned at the Royal Bank of Scotland. On the day of my return offer interview the stock dropped 75%. All offers were pulled. The company was nationalized shortly thereafter. 

So my first job out of college was residential painting. I moved back home. But immigrants don’t sit and wallow, they move and find opportunities. And so I too moved. Over the next 10 years I moved to Chicago; Greenville, SC; Norfolk, VA; and Berkeley, CA. Chasing opportunity is default. 

I wanted to be a quant trader. But the first opportunity I got was a “floor runner” on the Chicago Board of Trade. That’s exactly what it sounds like. I switched to work as an overnight high-frequency trader on the European desk. Midnight to 2pm for 2 years straight. I loved every minute of it.  I then transitioned to equity options, then finished my trading career in energy futures and options. My wife was in medicine, we moved for her career but I “figured it out” along the way. I pivoted to data science and ran a team at Leesa Sleep, a +100M ARR startup. Then moved to StubHub where I combined trading and data science to do internal ticket trading. 

During that time, I met my wife, Shelley. I received my MBA from Chicago Booth; she received her MD from USC-Greenville and pediatric residency in Norfolk. After my wife finished her residency, we moved to the Bay Area. We have two wonderful sons, one born in Norfolk, VA; and the other in Berkeley, CA. And we picked up two dogs, Zoey and Sadie. From there the rest was history…or that’s what we expected

We all know of COVID. Being locked down in the Bay Area was…isolating. There is only so much entertaining you can do with 900 Louisville and two kids and two dogs. And in that isolation my wife was missing family. So we “moved back” to Louisville.

I honestly thought this was just another phase in our nomad life. That we just needed a quick dose of “family” before setting off again. Louisville didn't feel like home to me; and quite frankly not to Shelley either. When we started looking for a home in the city I asked her “where are the good schools?” she replied, “I don't know I didn't grow up in Louisville.” (She grew up on the Indiana side). Louisville had changed from how she remembered it. There were more homeless, more crime, all the restaurants she went to were gone. It felt different. And so by extension, I thought it would be just a few years before we set off again.

And so by the summer of 2024, I was thinking about moving out of Louisville. I started looking for opportunities in Austin, Nashville and SF, and started dreaming of what life would be like.

But the calculus was different. My wife was closer to her family. I was closer to mine (still in Naperville). And in the two years that we were here, my kids were both in school, making friends, building social lives. We finally found stability after two years of settling in, which schools to go to, where to eat, how to get around (though I still don't know where Blankenbaker is), how to have fun (and who are good babysitters). 

I weighed the prospects of a better pay (but probably more hours), with the fact that we would have: to pay more for a house, 2 years to get settled, and refiguring out where do our kids go to school, how to get around, how to have fun (and of course babysitters).

And that’s when I realized why my parents stopped moving. Many things you do in life for yourself; but the important things in life you do for others. And I realized I'll be here for a while, until my kids go to college. So rather than sit and wallow, I would make opportunity.

Instead of thinking in 2-3 year career stints, I would think in 2-3 decades. Instead of saying “opportunities are in Nashville, Austin, the Bay Area”, making opportunities come here. Instead of looking for a home, make Louisville home. 

And if this is home, I want it to be fucking awesome. For my kids, for my family, for everyone. I only have two skills, work ethic and determination. That is what built America. That is America. 

I ask you to join us in making Louisville better. We do not have the answers, but together we will either find a way, or make one. This is why we started KYX.

–DRL

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