Sometimes it takes more than just a wee nudge to shift your thinking.
Learning something new about yourself; why you're doing a certain thing (like a job or hobby), and whether that's actually what you want to be doing, doesn't introspect itself naturally. You have to tease it out like a rabbit from its comfy wee home.
Maybe some people don't agree. They prefer consistency over authenticity. And I wouldn't blame them. The search for authenticity can bite hard. And if you want things now, you'll likely be disappointed.
But if you're open to feeling a bit of pain, awkwardness (especially social), and just can't fathom life without being excited about what you're doing, you'd probably benefit from picking up a carrot and searching for that comfy wee rabbit 🥕🐰
Learning something new about yourself; why you're doing a certain thing (like a job or hobby), and whether that's actually what you want to be doing, doesn't introspect itself naturally. You have to tease it out like a rabbit from its comfy wee home.
Maybe some people don't agree. They prefer consistency over authenticity. And I wouldn't blame them. The search for authenticity can bite hard. And if you want things now, you'll likely be disappointed.
But if you're open to feeling a bit of pain, awkwardness (especially social), and just can't fathom life without being excited about what you're doing, you'd probably benefit from picking up a carrot and searching for that comfy wee rabbit 🥕🐰
The Story
Anyway, the full circle story is what I'm here to tell you about. It's involves Bitcoin btw, so if you're bored stiff with that topic, look away now.
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I'd been running a successful marketing consultancy for about 7 years and I'd just found the intersection of my hobbies, skills and experience. Something I learned from a few mentors of mine. It was to be called Today Studios — a startup studio, a company that builds companies.
Not a new business model by any means, but it was going to be my flavour of studio. A wee bit extra turmeric, and a wee bit less natural fertiliser, if you ken what I mean.
Then along came Bitcoin and overnight it morphed into Bitcoin Studios.
But this is where the circle started, and I had to go away and back again to remember what the hell I was supposed to do.
Bitcoin is a deep, deep fuckin rabbit hole. I'm still falling down it, but at least not so quickly as before. I recognise the walls now, and kinda half understand what they're made of, and where some good holds to grab onto seem to be.
Bitcoin Works (👈 copy of old site) was the first hold on the wall. It started as a conversation about funding with one of the leading VCs in the space, and it led to a place-based workspace in Edinburgh, which I pulled out of in the final stage of launch to move back to Dubai, UAE.
Bit Mortgage was the second hold. Not only do I want the service myself, but it's such a no-brainer business model it's even becoming, necessary (with adv. and disadv. for this reason).
But again, halfway through the launch prep, I realised I wasn't the guy for the job. What the hell do I know about mortgages and finance? Did I want to be the guy to run with this idea until a potential exit 10 years from now? Was this at the intersection of my hobbies, skills and experience?
As Derek Sivers once wrote, it's either Hell Yeah or No.
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I'd been running a successful marketing consultancy for about 7 years and I'd just found the intersection of my hobbies, skills and experience. Something I learned from a few mentors of mine. It was to be called Today Studios — a startup studio, a company that builds companies.
Not a new business model by any means, but it was going to be my flavour of studio. A wee bit extra turmeric, and a wee bit less natural fertiliser, if you ken what I mean.
Then along came Bitcoin and overnight it morphed into Bitcoin Studios.
But this is where the circle started, and I had to go away and back again to remember what the hell I was supposed to do.
Bitcoin is a deep, deep fuckin rabbit hole. I'm still falling down it, but at least not so quickly as before. I recognise the walls now, and kinda half understand what they're made of, and where some good holds to grab onto seem to be.
Bitcoin Works (👈 copy of old site) was the first hold on the wall. It started as a conversation about funding with one of the leading VCs in the space, and it led to a place-based workspace in Edinburgh, which I pulled out of in the final stage of launch to move back to Dubai, UAE.
Bit Mortgage was the second hold. Not only do I want the service myself, but it's such a no-brainer business model it's even becoming, necessary (with adv. and disadv. for this reason).
But again, halfway through the launch prep, I realised I wasn't the guy for the job. What the hell do I know about mortgages and finance? Did I want to be the guy to run with this idea until a potential exit 10 years from now? Was this at the intersection of my hobbies, skills and experience?
As Derek Sivers once wrote, it's either Hell Yeah or No.
Now Back Full Circle
Luckily, I wasn't doing all this in a lonely vacuum. I'd been running weekly stand-ups with my technical cofounder for a number of weeks.
The realisation came when I stopped making progress on our weekly to-do's. That is VERY unlike me. I am the to-do police (my gf is even worse!). If it is written, it must be done ✊
But with no progress made, I was left with only....excuses! And that, as far as I'm concerned, is a line you cannot cross. So I turned inward and asked myself why the fuck I wasn't delivering.
"I'm not the best founder for this business" I thought. "I'm a full-stack marketer generalist, who does market research, builds communities, creates brands, launches websites, writes newsletters, creates complex automations sequences across email, ad and social platforms, AI content engines, then analyses and improves!"
Ah shit, I'm meant to be recruiting for a Bit Mortgage CEO cofounder as the first Bitcoin Studios venture.
The realisation came when I stopped making progress on our weekly to-do's. That is VERY unlike me. I am the to-do police (my gf is even worse!). If it is written, it must be done ✊
But with no progress made, I was left with only....excuses! And that, as far as I'm concerned, is a line you cannot cross. So I turned inward and asked myself why the fuck I wasn't delivering.
"I'm not the best founder for this business" I thought. "I'm a full-stack marketer generalist, who does market research, builds communities, creates brands, launches websites, writes newsletters, creates complex automations sequences across email, ad and social platforms, AI content engines, then analyses and improves!"
Ah shit, I'm meant to be recruiting for a Bit Mortgage CEO cofounder as the first Bitcoin Studios venture.
Circle Complete
And there you have it. Full circle. Nearly 2 years later.
Now, do I regret doing all the things I had to do to get here?
No. But I am absolutely ecstatic that I've refound the path.
Now, do I regret doing all the things I had to do to get here?
No. But I am absolutely ecstatic that I've refound the path.
🧱 Bitcoin Studios Timeline
Doors to Bitcoin Studios will be opening soon(ish - we have a bunch of UAE paperwork to sort out).
But for those interested, this will be the general pathway towards and beyond launch.
But for those interested, this will be the general pathway towards and beyond launch.
Q4 2025 — Soft Launch
- Soft launch Bitcoin Studios at Bitcoin MENA, where I'll be moderating a panel about stuff I love to talk about (mentioned above).
Hint: if you're building a Bitcoin wallet as a business, be prepared to be a little annoyed by the title 🤗
Q1 2026 — First Venture
- Recruit first CEO co-founder for initial venture (likely Bit Mortgage, depending on founder-model fit).
- Request Access here if you think that could be you.
- Form a community of Bitcoin builders (engineers, designers, growth).
- Launch pilot for first venture with early adopters.
Q2 2026 — Scale the Studio
- Hire COO for Bitcoin Studios.
- Spin up one additional venture.
- Secure strategic partners to fund Bitcoin Studios ventures directly (no fund yet).
Q3 2026 — Fund Blueprint & Growth
- Launch the Bitcoin Studios Fund Blueprint (micro-fund to co-invest in studio-born startups).
- Hire a CFO for the fund (fund and Bitcoin Studios OpCo will be different entities).
- Spin up one additional venture.
Q4 2026 — Network & Expansion
- Establish Fund I.
- Host our first Bitcoin Studios Summit — IRL meet-up for founders, engineers, and capital allocators.
- Announce the next 3 ventures for 2027.
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If any of the above sounds interesting to you, signup for access at Bitcoin Studios, or email me directly at robbie@bitcoinstudios.xyz
LFG!