The 20 Things That Defined My 2020

This was a challenging year to say the least.

In what was a historic year, 2020 magnified the most troubling trends plaguing society today: severe wealth inequality, selfish individualism, and the inherent racism that still emanates silently across the world.

I learned how fragile our food system could be, and how people we may have previously overlooked -- cashiers, grocers, farmers, and nurses -- are essential to preserving the health, life, and essence of our daily life.

Despite some of these unprecedented challenges, 2020 was a year of profound learning -- full of growth, challenges, changes, and highlights.

Here are the 20 that defined my 2020:

1. Completely pivoted Coastline into what is now [Freshline](https://freshline.io/), based on the thesis that: (1) the restaurant & hospitality industries will have permanent, rippling changes; (2) e-commerce will no longer be an afterthought to wholesalers, farmers & retailers; and (3) online adoption of food & ingredient delivery will continue to skyrocket post-COVID
2. Launched [Freshline 1.0](https://freshline.io/) -- the best all-in-one e-commerce and fulfillment platform for farmers, retailers, and food wholesalers
3. Had my stock portfolio nearly halve overnight.... but luckily avoided panic-selling
4. Spent two months of the quarantine living in the Okanagan/Similkameen Valley
5. Brought on several rockstars join the Freshline team (including our CTO, Gianni)
6. Moved into a new apartment and celebrated 3 years together with Maddy, my lovely girlfriend
7. Was fortunate enough to visit Miami only a few days before full-scale lockdowns went into place
8. Learned from some amazing mentors and advisors (shoutout to Matt, Irv & Craig, among many others) who helped keep me sane and focused on what matters
9. Took a step back from overly obsessing over success -- learning that everyone has their own pace of growth, and that comparison is the thief of joy
10. Rediscovered the joy of working with my hands -- specifically carpentry and cooking
11. Welcomed my brother back from Seattle/San Francisco after 3+ years and... proudly cheered him on as he started his new venture, [Shift Clinic](https://www.shift.clinic/)
12. Participated in a quarantine wedding at a private winery, with the bride/groom's family #zooming in from around the world
13. Proudly supported the local community through meal kits and donations to cornerstone organizations like VGH, Vancouver Aquarium, and the Aboriginal Friendship Center
14. Participated in C100's 48 Hours in the (Digital) Valley, and learned from top-notch VCs, entrepreneurs, and peers
15. Had trips to Boston, Toronto, and San Francisco cancelled...
16. Adopted a kitten into the family
17. Observed several friends take the next step in launching new ventures, scaling startups, and achieve exponential outcomes
18. Transacted Freshline's first $1M within just a few months of pivoting
19. Permanently left our prime downtown office space and went fully remote. Found out that the team was more productive in a remote setting
20. Reaffirmed my conviction that with a collective, global effort -- humanity can solve anything. If the world can build and deploy a vaccine in just a few months, there's no telling what we can achieve together.

Onwards to 2021~

Joseph