A-Team (Alex & Andra)

Andra: This episode's about how we met. I moved in on day three. I think I

Alex: just asked you how much money you have. How much do you have in your savings? Like, you need to invest. IAndra: have to go home. Like, I'm booking a flight today. That

Alex: was the moment that you realized that I was interested

Andra: in you? I looked at you and you had like a slight tear in your eye.

Alex: I don't know if I want... to work with you or

Andra: date you. Is there a disappear button? Because I would like to press that right now.

Alex: So thank you to our friends at Divvy for sponsoring this episode. Okay. Okay. Wait, this is like real. So we're doing a podcast. Okay. We are. Welcome to our home. Why are we, why are we doing a podcast?

Andra: Because we're narcissists.

Alex: You're not supposed to say that on the podcast. That's for the behind the scenes.

Andra: No, we want to do a podcast because But we've actually been recording our conversations behind the scenes, like just on your phone, since we met. Yeah. So this has been in the works for a very long time. And we have all of those recordings and we've been looking for someone to help us record because it just like takes a lot of bandwidth.

We have like a whole studio set up in our home and we have someone amazing helping us. Yeah.

Alex: Yeah.

Andra: Okay. So yeah, we wanted to record a podcast for posterity.

Alex: Oh gosh, we're doing the general magic.

Andra: I think we have a lot of these conversations offline and we tell them a lot. So I think it's just nice to like have them in a recorded format for us to reference and then maybe other people will enjoy listening to them, too.

Yeah. Okay. So this episode's about how we met. Oh gosh. Yes. And we've told this story so many times. Let's start with where we met in San Francisco. Why were we both there? Because that's actually, like, we were both there for a very short period of time and we met in a very serendipitous way.

Alex: Yeah. So I was living in Buffalo, New York, and I was running a business out of my bedroom And I was doing that for a very long time.

To the point where I figured I'm so close like family that I'm like there. I'm never gonna leave Buffalo. Why did I need to? It was a remote business and it was, it was kind of this whole thing where I was comfortable. It was great. And then I essentially got a job offer. And they had asked me if I wanted to come and have their team, uh, their CS team in Silicon Valley.

And it was one of those things that it's like, I kind of like laughed when I saw it. I'm like, okay, funny. But it was, it was software that I loved that I was just like, hold on. Like, this is actually, I've been running a business for eight years now at this point. If there's a time to, See what it's like actually running with a startup and being around really smart people This was the time to do that So I decided to run with it and I told all my family that I was leaving Buffalo to go to Silicon Valley I didn't know what that meant and it was very emotional and it was jarring to everyone around me But I but I did it.

I got a plane ticket and Um, that ended up falling through, believe it or not last minute, but that was after I convinced my brother to sell his business and come join the company and work with me because I was like, okay, I'm going to delegate this. You're going to run the business. And I was like, you know what?

I already told my family I'm gone. I emotionally dealt with. Being gone. Uh, so I was like, okay, well, where else can I go? And I was like, well, San Francisco, I can go there because I was close partners with, with Copper at the time. So I'm like, Copper's headquarters are there, Panadoc's headquarters are there, Dialpad, Slack, like, if I had a reason to go somewhere, it was San Francisco.

So that's, that's what I did. I

Andra: remember when I met you, you were still not committed to leaving Buffalo. No. Evan, which is the friend that kind of introduced us, he takes credit for it, but really, it was just serendipity again. He said, I remember you said, uh, I have a ticket, a one way ticket, but I may go back in May.

And this was like February. And Evan was like, no, you're not, man. And you were just like, I don't know. But since we met on that first day, I haven't heard you talk about leaving. So I feel like us meeting. Kind of like put the the nail in the hammer or sorry the hammer, you know what I mean? Yeah,

Alex: I mean I Essentially didn't know where to go in San Francisco So I did I reached out to my buddy Evan and I was like, hey, I'm thinking about moving to San Francisco And he's like, oh you should stay at Outsite and I was like, what's that?

He's like, oh, it's a co living co working house Like I'm staying there. That's right. It's like it's great because there's people there and It's just a good way to go to like a new city and not know people. So I was like, okay, cool. So I moved in the same house as him and the rooms booked up. So he actually had to move out.

So I was actually helping him move from this house that was in Pacific Heights over to the house in the mission, um, in San Francisco. So I was helping him move all of his things. Uh, I was actually on the couch and I was working and. He had come over to me and he was essentially just like I have to move.

I have a lot of stuff I have because he blows glass. So he had like four or five suitcases filled with glass that he has blown and he's like All right, I'm gonna grab the uber and I'm gonna go and I was like wait man Like how are you five suitcases? How are you gonna do that? And he's like, I'm just gonna like take three ubers I'm like that makes no sense.

Let me go shower and I'll help you move Like, and he's like, okay, sure. Yeah. So I got ready, helped him, uh, into the Uber. We needed one Uber, obviously. And once we got there, we moved all this stuff in. And then I, um, he had gone into the living room and I just heard like from afar, this girl say, are you Mike?

Or was it Mark? Are you Mark? Are you Matt? And I just hear Evan be like, no, I'm not Matt. And then I walk in and then she asks me, she's like, are you Matt? And I was like, I could be. And yeah, so, so that that was kind of the first, first part of where we, we met. Who is Matt?

Andra: So, okay. I'll back up and tell a little bit about what brought me to San Francisco.

So Before that, I was living in Melbourne, Australia and had lived there for six years. I grew up in Toronto, so it was like pretty far away. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue living there because it was just so far away from like my mom and dad and family. So I had sold all my things and decided to do this, like.

Solo girl backpacking trip. And I had like a little job stint in San Francisco. I was supposed to be there for four weeks for a contract. And I also found Outsight online and I really liked the idea of being in this like tech city and staying in a co living co working house because I thought I'm going to meet such amazing people.

I don't want to stay in like a stinky hotel. I definitely have beef with hotels. So, um, I booked it and funny enough. All the rooms were booked and I'm glad you said that before I did because I, the only room I could book was a shared room and it wasn't a shared room with like all girls. It was like one big room with three single beds and Outsight had told me, Hey, just as a heads up, like no one really books this room.

Like just go for it. It was a thousand dollars cheaper as well. And I was like, you know, Let's, let's go for it. Of course, I book it. And then when I show up, they're like, we've had the busiest month ever. So it's fully booked and you're going to have two roommates that join you and they're both guys. And I'm like, well, you know what?

Going to roll with the punches. So on my first night, I met my roommate, the first one that was there and he was great. He was fine. And anyways, so I was waiting for the third roommate to come in, which was, I think, Matt or Mike. We don't really remember because I didn't really live there very long after that.

But I had, on the day we met, had gone on a date in San Francisco with like a random guy that I met. And I just wanted to do the whole like dating in San Francisco thing. And kind of. ticket off my list, but it was not a good date at all. Like to the point where I ended it early and was like, I want to go home.

And he was like, do you want to go for dinner? I was like, I'm making dinner with my roommates tonight. So I got home. And if anyone knows what stages I had some and I like staged myself after that date, I remember like sitting on the couch, putting my hair up in a ponytail. And was doing the whole like veg out on the couch thing where you're like numblessly scrolling through social media, and it just feels so good because you're like now having your introverted time.

So that's my point of view. And yeah, I was like, kind of nervous, like, who's this extra guy that's going to come live with me? So when I saw Evan come in, of course, I asked him if he's Matt or Mike, and then I had asked you. And none of you were him, but we all started talking, and we started chatting, and I asked you what you do for work, and you said.

Alex: Yeah, so I said that I work with companies to implement CRMs and automations to streamline their businesses. Um, I think I threw out Copper CRM and, uh, Zapier and you had said, Oh, like very much like knew what I was talking about. It's like, Oh yeah, like I, I use Entreport and I'm like, wait, hold on. What?

And you knew what Zapier was? And I'm like, I've never met. There's very few people I've met that even knew what Zapier was. How many women I've met that know where Zapier was, so it's like no one, yeah, Buffalo. Yes, for sure. Um, so we, it was just like this, this level, like right out of the gate. You, you, what do you, what do you say

Andra: after?

I said, I have never met anyone who explains what I do for work so well. Because, you know, sometimes when you're like doing your own thing, you're like trying to always figure out how you. Communicate to other people what you do. So you had put it in like such a succinct way that I was like, yes, I'm going to steal that.

Alex: Yeah. And, and, and you wanted to see my Zapier account, which was also just like, you know, when someone like, in a way it's like they're connecting with you and you're like, oh, are they just saying this to connect with you? It was very much like, no, no. Like, I want to see what you do because I'm curious. And that is like, Wow, there's actually like an interest here beyond just the surface level.

Andra: And then we started talking and we were just like so in the depths of the conversation and Evan was like, I have to Uber back to the other house to get more of my things. Yeah. And he was like, so do you want to come with me? Because that was your original plan. And you responded, you're like, Not really.

And I was just like, I like this guy. He's just like straight up honest and it's always nice when you're enjoying a conversation with someone that it feels mutual. And in that moment I felt like, I was like, he's, he's liking this conversation. So I've been left for like, an hour and he comes back and somehow we were like at the exact same point of the story you were telling me.

Alex: We like circled back to like at the end to like summarize the story. And he is like, you guys haven't even changed what you're talking about. Like you're literally right where I left off when I left. Like, um, yeah. So then everyone kind of started going to bed and like leaving. There was more of a group thing at the start and then it was like, you were sitting on the couch.

I was sitting on a chair nearby. And then like, by the end I had set. Next to the couch, um, with you and it was just you and me and everyone else kind of like, you know, just went away and then we talked for another, I don't know, eight, ten hours,

Andra: like, kind of like this. Yeah. I remember it was like late, like midnight, 1 a.

m. and I was like, okay, he's about to say like, I Going home. And you weren't saying that. And I was like, I'm really tired, but I'm also enjoying the conversation. So I was like, I don't even know where this is going. And because we were like really connecting on work and careers and stuff like that, you were like showing me content that you had like put out and I was reading it.

And then at one point you pulled out my LinkedIn profile and you're like, let's go through your work history. And I like, it was so like, this is my person. Like, I just love that. And you're like, tell me about your first job. I was like, well, that was an internship. And we went through like everything that I had done.

And then you shared, like, you're like, I only had my own business and I started it when I was 18 and I've been doing this for a very long time and. You were what, 28 or 29 when we met? Yeah. Yeah. And I remember being really impressed that you had like the mental stamina to continue running a business because I had met so many people.

Like, I mean, we all have that, like, you know, they, it's like they stop after a year or two and you were like, I didn't make good money off the bat. Like I made 5, 000 in my first year. And then 10, 000, I mean, I'm making these numbers up. You could probably

Alex: speak to it more. 5, 10, 10, 15, like the first five years was like less than 10 grand.

Andra: And I think so many people would look at that and think like, wow, that sucks. But I was very impressed that you, yeah, like I said, had the strength to just be like, that's not, it's not just about like the money, like you were figuring it out.

Alex: Yeah. So what, so that night, okay. So that morning, I guess, cause it was five, 5am.

So essentially I got there on five. p. m. and I left at 5, 5 30 a. m. and I essentially just like took the bus back. It, oh gosh, it was sketchy. I, I should have Ubered back now, really get back at it. Um, but it was just funny, this thing, like I got off of the bus and I saw there was an ad for like Asana, like just on like a, on, on the bus stop area.

And for one thing, I was, this was my first, you know, month and a half into ASAP. So also this culture shock of just like, oh my gosh, like my favorite software tools are like right when I get off of the bus, just there. And we had already had like an inside joke about Asana. So I had taken a picture and like sent it to you.

Um, and, and by the way, like this, like After this, the 12 hours that we were talking, like we hugged each other. It was not like, Oh, this was a romantic thing. It was like, I think we were, we can tell that we're both kind of like, there's something interesting here, but it was very much just like no pressure.

Um, so I'd gone, we'd gone to sleep. And then I think I texted you in the morning and I just said, like, I think I just said, we, we need to get coffee ASAP. Yes,

Andra: so I want to share this because I, first of all, I don't think we even had time to process like who each other were or what it was or anything, but went to bed and I had been in a stage where it's like, you don't really know what like guys are thinking.

I'll just like fully admit that. So I was like, Oh, I had this great conversation with this person till 5 a. m. Watch. I'm not going to hear from him from him for like three days or four days. And I was just so over that. And I really like valued people that were like direct and honest. So I had slept in obviously and rolled over to my phone and I saw a notification from you saying let's get coffee ASAP.

So it was just so nice to be like, wow, we're on the same page. Like. It's so easy. And I was like, absolutely. I'm going to meditate. Cause it was like super hardcore meditation then. And I was like, you said

Alex: you, you're like, I have to get some work done. Um, but yeah, like if we can, if we can meet up around like one and get, and actually have it be like a work session, we can get some coffee, like the boundary there.

I'm like, cool. Okay. So like, you want to hang out, but also you want it to be productive. So it's like, cool. And we like scheduled to go to a blue

Andra: bottle, which I want to say like, that is one of my favorite ways to hang out with people. Like when they're doing like work, cause they're doing something that they hopefully enjoy.

And I'm doing that. And I was really into what I was doing.

Alex: So yeah. Yeah. So we meet up at blue bottle and I think this is just This is funny because like I can say this now, but I didn't learn about this until a year and a half afterward. Um, so we're waiting in line and I'm like, okay, I'm literally meeting up with this person.

We've been talking so much about work and this is, this is a, if there's a work expense. That there's ever been a work expense. This is that. So I pulled out my work credit card and I'm like, okay, what do you want to drink? And then she says, like, she wanted, you know, oat milk, latte, whatever. I got the same thing.

And then I, um, yeah, I paid with the business credit card. And I'm just like, this is like, so obviously a work scenario. We're literally here to work together. And I learned a year and a half later that. What was it? That was the moment that you realized that I was interested in you?

Andra: Yeah. I was like, he is into me.

And that for me? No, okay. I wasn't that confident. I was like, he might be into me. He's paying for my coffee.

Alex: And I'm literally like, this is a work expense. I like that, like my, I almost feel like if I was into, if it was more that thing, I'd be like, I'd be paying for you personally, but it was very much like this.

Like if there's ever been like this clear sign, it's this, um, so we ended up sitting down and we're, we're having coffees and just believe it or not. Wi Fi was awful, so we couldn't actually get any work done. Like the Wi it literally did not work. So then we just got to a point where we're just like, I guess we're just going to talk to each other.

Um, so we just kind of sat there and we talked to each other for maybe like 45 minutes an hour while we were drinking coffees. I bullied

Andra: you because you didn't have Apple products. Yes. You didn't have a MacBook. You were on a Android. I was like, does this person not know? Yeah. We'll get into that in another episode.

Alex: So thank you to our friends at Divi for sponsoring this episode. Super excited about this because this is a tool that we've been using for the past three plus years now. Um, it has helped us automatically reconcile our books and catch fraudulent activity. Someone, someone, what was it? It was a virtual credit card that was put on file with our, one of our vendors.

Andra: Yeah, so you could create a virtual card and put it on file with different vendors and you set a budget for each of your vendors. And we had put one on file and it got charged at Home Depot and Walmart. Yes. And Divi was super helpful and returned the money to us. And then with our vendor, we were able to say, Hey, just so you know, you were the

Alex: only vendor that had this credit card.

So we know for certain that. It was leaked in your possession. They did an internal investigation. And what did they

Andra: find? They found that an employee who had been there for 15 years was actually stealing credit card numbers. Apparently it was the first time, but obviously a big question mark on that. But they were caught.

They were let go, of course. And

Alex: we helped essentially find them and stop them because they were using other people's credit cards. And just think of a normal business credit card. You use the same credit card number at every single vendor. So if there's fraudulent activity, you have no idea where that stemmed from, but they were actually able to figure out who that person was because they were the only ones with that number.

And what

Andra: blew my mind about Divi is that it's free. Yeah, we don't actually pay

Alex: for it. You didn't think that you thought we've been paying for it for the past year and a half. And you totally like we're on board and cool with it. And then I told you one day that it was free and you, you did not believe me.

Andra: Yeah. So it is a beautiful interface. We use it every single day in our business. Every time we have to make a purchase or expense. Yeah. So check them out. All the details are down in the

Alex: description. Thank you for supporting us in creating this content.

So, um, Yeah, so then it was this, this cool thing where like toward the end of it, it's like, well, we actually do have to get work done. So I was like, do you want to come back to my place? And by my place, it's literally like, do you want to see the other outside house who, you know, there's 12 other people living with me.

Like, do you want to go there and work? Cause there's co working areas there. So it was a very, like, it was an easy way to be like, you know, let's go hang out, whatever else. And she's like, yeah, of course, like, that makes sense. So we walked back over there. We sat on the couch and we actually pulled our laptops out with the intention to, to work like to, to, yeah.

And then we, I think we just talked for another like hour, hour and a half or something on the

Andra: couch. And somehow the topic of like dating people that you work with came up and Then you just were like, what do you think about that? Like dating someone that you work with? And I was like, I think it's really cool.

Like, I really liked the idea of like raising a family in an entrepreneurial household. And I shared that. I was like, I can see myself like having my three year old on my lap while I'm like writing emails and I'm like just teaching them. Things about business and work from a very early age. And I don't know if you remember this and I don't know if you'll ever admit to it, but I looked at you and you had like a slight tear in your

Alex: eye.

Yeah, I, I, so I grew up, my stepdad, um, was very much in business. All of his friends were in business. So construction company. And I think like, I kind of saw, Like family and business intertwined. And that's one of the things I got my interest in into the business world. So I think it connected with that.

Like I also had lost my, lost my family, left my family. So I think it was just like this whole tying in work and family being in a new place. It just, it kind of pulled on those, those heartstrings a little bit. And, um, so I, I essentially, there's a point where I was just like, I don't know if I want to work with you or date you.

And what did you say? Why not both?

Andra: And, yeah. And then

Alex: you kissed me. Well, so you turned to me and you said, let's talk about it. And I was like, okay.

Andra: I don't think I said that because you were definitely the one who was always better at talking

Alex: in the early days. No, I felt like, I felt like you, at that point you were, you were confident in it because you had already.

Had that idea. We talked for it for a bit and then I had kissed you, but. I just

Andra: always love when you're like, let's talk about it. And I'm like, oh yeah. Yeah. Communication. Yeah. Okay.

Alex: So you ended up going home that night. Um, and then. Of course, we're like, do you want to hang out the next day too?

Andra: Yeah. I took an Uber home and then I had to go into the office.

And while I was at the office, I decided to do, of course, the customary stalk the person you just met online. So I'm like, Alex Bass, LinkedIn, Alex Bass, Twitter, Alex Bass website. And I'm like sitting there like just doom scrolling through everything. And I found a tweet that said, Dear Twitter. I met someone incredible.

Keep doing your thing. Something of that sort and I was like that must be me and it's so

Alex: funny that was after the night I think on the bus ride back or something

Andra: Yeah, because I've told the story to obviously other people and I remember someone was like, why would you think that's about you? Like I would never think that's about me and I was like because he had really only been with me like there wasn't that many People that you could have possibly me possibly met in that time.

So I was very like I think that's about me, but I didn't reveal to you that I had seen that tweet for like a week. I couldn't keep it in that long. And when I told you, you laughed and you're like, oh shoot.

Alex: Yeah, I wasn't trying to hide it. I think in a way, yeah, it, it, it definitely. It almost felt like it was one of those things for just to, to put it out there and have it be something to reference back and yeah, I I think it'd be fun to just go back and just look at that tweet.

I don't know what, I just like to Okay. I haven't screenshotted. Okay. Okay. Yeah, so you were back home and I think we just realized at this point, like we had obviously talked about so much stuff through, 'cause we had spoken maybe a total of 16, 17 hours, 18 hours, like within those first two days. So it was literally at the point where I'm like, I feel like I know you.

better than like even like exes that I've like been with for years. But we just talked about so much stuff just like even to the degree of like yeah like children and what do you envision with that and like um prior relationships and just talking openly about all the stuff that we've been through and it was like nothing was off the table in a way it was almost like we didn't go on a date it was like you're getting to know someone as a friend so then it was nothing was off the table we just talked openly about everything that We had going on and I

Andra: was doing this thing at the time when I was like trying to be as direct and straightforward about like what I wanted in my life and for my life and I was like being very selective over the kind of like relationships I wanted to welcome.

So I was like waiting for you to opt out at any given point as in to be like, well, I don't like that. And it doesn't seem like we're going to be a match, which I had done with other people. And it was like very clear. We weren't online. Not online, all lined, but with you, everything I shared that was like to me, something that you might not like you actually liked even more.

So that was really nice. Yeah. Okay. So that brings us to day three. Yeah. So went into work again, this was a Tuesday and you came over after work. We did some work together. I made you some steamed. Cauliflower and broccoli. Did I show

Alex: you my Zapier account

Andra: by this point? You did not. But you showed me some of the processes you had set up in your business.

And I remember, like, my eyes watered at that point because, again, I just saw, like, how much, like, you had invested in this business. I think it should be, like, your QuickBooks account or something like that. Or maybe the integration between Asana and

Alex: Asana. Harvest, tracking time, all the things. Yeah,

Andra: yeah. So, it was the end of the night and I think we were kind of, like, What's going on?

I'm actually trying to recall exactly how this happened. Basically, I think during the day you had said something like, no pressure at all, but if you want to move into my house, your house as in like the other outside location, there's like a room upstairs that's kind of free.

Alex: Oh, I think at first I was like, You're essentially we were hanging out at this point where we were hanging out every day.

Well, it was day three Well, I mean it was trending toward that and it was like the clock was ticking down because you actually had to leave like the Whole point was you're gonna be gone in like three weeks So I think it was like why? Essentially have an uber come and pick you up every night or vice versa, or like all this just in case, like, I think I said, like, why don't you just bring a bag over next time with some of your stuff?

Like, just in case it makes more sense for you to stay. But then that same day, one of our roommates, one of, I think they were just leaving for like a three day thing. And she's like, my room is going to be open. And, um, She offered, she, she was like, if you know anyone that wants to stay for a few days, like, I don't care, like, whatever, it's just not doing anything.

So then I said, also, if you, if it makes you more comfortable, you can actually just stay in her room. So it was like, I think they were both, they both coincided. Yeah. Thoughts.

Andra: And. It was actually, so I had more or I had less than three weeks cause I had already been in San Francisco by that point for three weeks and then my like contract renewed slightly.

So, I mean, I was going to be there for like a total of eight weeks at that point. So four more weeks and I had to get another room and because they were all booking up and they were quite expensive, it was 2, 500 a month. You were like, do you want to just like split a room as well? I mean, all of this is quite funny cause it was very fast, but.

Basically, I decided that night, instead of packing a bag, I was gonna pack all of my things. So I just I grabbed, did you not?

Alex: I think you just, I, I think it was like, hey, you should just bring a bag next time. And like, you're, I saw your bag was a big bag. And you're just like, I brought all my things. And I'm like, cool.

Yeah,

Andra: because I was like, this is stupid. Why am I like in an Uber home every night? And like I said, I only had a week left on my, um, stay. So I was like, I might as well just, if I'm going to come stay at the other

Alex: location. Oh, you also enjoyed the house, like the people in the house, like you're building relationships and friendships with people in my house, in the outside house.

And I think it was just one of those things where you're like, okay, so I'm going to be going back and living in a room with two strangers. Or here's this person that I know so well, I could stay. And I think you just had FOMO, like you don't want to miss our house. Our house was

Andra: great. Your house was better.

Yeah. So long story short, I moved in on day three. That's how that story goes. I moved in and the rest is history because we've been together every single day. We've been apart for two nights since.

Alex: Yeah. The end. Which, but no, I feel, I feel like there is a level and maybe, maybe this can get cut out if it, if you don't feel comfortable with it, but I feel like even the conversations that we had.

For us staying in because it was no pressure of you staying. It was literally like the, the analytical side of me is like, this just logically makes sense. You're spending, you know, almost two grand a month. I'm spending more than two grand a month. Like, why don't we just do this together? Literally. Yes, we're sleeping.

We'd be sleeping in the same bed. But like, there's no pressure on it. Like, no pressure to do anything, no pressure to like, it was literally just like, let's just talk about the idea of this because it makes sense. And we want to essentially hang out in the morning and hang out at night anyway. So it literally, yeah, it's just, we had conversations around everything.

Yeah. Very early, like literally, day number three, we talked about every facet of everything. We had an intimacy chat. Which I didn't even know was a thing that exists. Well, I

Andra: didn't know either. I made it up because I was like, well, like I said, I was at a point in my life where I was like trying to communicate a lot

Alex: more.

About everything. You seemed confident. I was like, okay, this is someone that knows what they want and how they want, like, to talk about

Andra: things. I remember because I told you I wanted to have an intimacy chat. And then later you pulled me aside and you're like, okay, let's have the chat. And I was like, I dig this guy.

Like he is following up on conversations. So we lived together for three weeks.

Alex: And we were essentially waking up in the morning and listening to a podcast episode while we're getting ready, like literally a business podcast episode. So I like, that was just one of the crazy things too, that there was this level where I, you had a podcast.

Oh my gosh. Like you had a podcast. I had a podcast. Like there was this and then we both obviously listened to podcasts and now we're recording a podcast now. But so it's like, it was this whole thing where we kind of got to both live the same lives that we would live on our own anyway, in a sense, short of like you meditated in the morning.

And that was, I guess, difficult to kind of make all that fit in. Yeah.

Andra: And then the pandemic was taking over the world, which, like, I remember my dad calling me and being like, there's cases in San Francisco. And I was like, at that point, like, no, no, no, don't tell me this, like, la la la, like, I just wanted to ignore this pandemic.

But it came, obviously, as everybody knows, so fast that, like, within days, things were changing. And there were people who were in our house that lived internationally, like Spain and Australia and they were dropping off like flies like people were booking flights because the borders were closing and we had decided that we were going to wait it out and we even went grocery shopping and we went to the grocery store and the shelves were completely empty and I remember you were like joking around about it and I was like.

This is not really funny. Like, this is actually quite scary. The part

Alex: that was so difficult is, like, when we were in our flow, I think it was just, like, things were good. This was before COVID, or we had our blinders on a little bit with COVID. But, like, we would wake up in the morning listening to podcasts.

We would both take, like, literally the bus to work because we both go downtown. Um, well, I, I was working out of Copper's headquarters at this point. Like I had just built such a close relationship with them. And then they had gotten me like a badge to get into the office. They got me on their meal food program.

So it was, it was so cool. Cause it was like running my business out of there. Cause our customers were shared. So it was like, it made sense. But I had a reason to go downtown. You had a reason to go downtown. And then like after work, the work day, we like meet up at the bus stop and then we would like take the bus back home.

And we were just like in like this, it almost felt surreal, the life that we were living in that short a period of time, but it felt like it's like, this is like a tech forward life. Like, this is what it would be like if we were living in San Francisco, like Together. And we were just in that immediately.

Andra: Yeah. Which was very new for me as well, because I had never lived in a tech city. And at some point during that time, you Zapier account. Yeah. And I remember being blown away because it had like 40 steps, this one automation that you built. And it was like so impressive. And I was like making jokes. I was like, wow, your Zapier account's so big.

Your Zaps are so big. Okay. When you know you're joking about. When you have automation jokes, does that make us

Alex: nerdy? Probably. Okay. So, okay, so then you, I was feeling, I remember the point where our roommates were moving out, like one, a couple of our friends, they, they were from Spain. They literally booked a flight to leave and we're like, this is actually getting serious because they were saying the borders are closing, that we actually need to go back or we might not even be able to get back into Spain.

And I think at that point, it was like, okay, this is actually getting quite serious. And I'm, I didn't want to give up what we had going there. I'm like, this is just unreal that we're living this life right now. Um, and then, yeah, like the house started just thinning out to the point where it was like me, you, and like four other people, by the way, this big house, like.

12 rooms and we had it all to ourselves literally the point where the doors were open. You could go to the master bedroom, beautiful shower and everything. You could like, just use it. Cause no one was in there. No one knew and COVID like the world was just such a weird thing at that point. But you, you were saying that your parents were pressuring, like you're not from the U S you don't have health insurance.

Like you need to get back to Canada. Yeah.

Andra: And I had sold my stuff in Australia, so I didn't have a home to go back to. So the only other home I had was like, Where my parents were, which was Toronto, and the borders were closing now in Canada. Canada had just announced, and it was on the news that they were calling their citizens home.

And I'm a Canadian citizen. Mm. So I remember saying to you, I have to go home. And you were like, when? And I'm like, today, like, yeah, I'm booking a flight today. Like this has been fun. But I think that, yeah, I have to go. I have to get back. Like this is not a joke anymore.

Alex: Yeah, so I was essentially, yeah, I didn't want to believe it, but I was just like trying to think, okay, like now this is real.

The fact that you're literally talking about booking a flight now, um, and then my mind is just running and I'm like, okay, well, your, your family's from Toronto. My family's from Buffalo, like it's a two hour drive away. Like. I think I was just like, like, what if I went with you?

Andra: And I remember being shocked because I was like, my parents don't even know I'm dating someone.

I don't even know what we are. Like this was supposed to be like a no pressure. I'm moving in for four weeks and then I'm going to go travel. So I hadn't like, I think that's a beautiful part of our relationship. Like there was no overthinking in it because everything kind of just happened and we were both like present day to day.

So I remember being like, well, I guess we said we'd wait. out this thing together. Now I'm leaving. I don't know. Fine. If you want to come, why not?

Alex: Yeah. And well, I, I think I was like, my, my, my analytical logical side was just like, yeah, we can't. Like, I think I was like, there's so much money to be made with us being together that this would actually be stupid for us to part ways.

The idea of like, let's work together and date like we did, we were starting the dating thing, but the work together thing was still like, just, it was just an idea and we didn't even know how that would fit together. But I was just like, I know every day we are growing together. We were like watching YouTube videos together and like, we were just so engulfed in each other's worlds, but it was in a way that we were growing together so early on.

So, yeah, it was like, why don't I just go with you? And then it was this whole thing too, where it was kind of forced to, like, you're essentially be living with your parents, which also is just like, I mean, it's just want to preface this. Like I was living at home to 27 and then I got the one way ticket. So I was literally living in my, my bedroom and my child, not childhood home because we had moved once.

But I went from that to being independent to the point I had never ridden a bus before. public transit, like all these things like that, because it's not great in Buffalo for that. But like, I was growing every day and just like the independent side of things. And then I'm now like a month and a half, two months into it, like throwing the idea out of going back and living with parents again, not my parents, your parents.

And what were your concerns with me living with your parents? I

Andra: mean, I hadn't lived with my parents in six, seven years, so I didn't even know like who I was as an adult living at home. And, yeah, I just had no idea, like, what it was gonna be like, but the reality is, I didn't have time to think about it.

Like, I remember just shooting my parents a text message of a photo of us saying, Hey, um, me,

Alex: I met Oh, wait, wait, it was, it was a photo, we did, I didn't, we had the most amazing roommates. We did a full fledged photo shoot. They had like a beautiful camera and like we just did the goofiest photo shoot. So we had the coolest photos together and you sent like, I think you're wearing like a leopard.

I was wearing like almost a suit and you sent like the picture of your parents and you're like, I've met a friend here and he lives in Buffalo. Is there any chance that he could, you know, come with, like, would it be fine if like, He flew back with me or whatever else. And they're just like, I don't care.

Just get home now. And we tried to book something in and we couldn't.

Andra: Yeah. Like the, the ticket we found online wasn't booking. So my dad was like, Oh my God, just send me your friend's passport details and your passport. And I'm booking this for you. So we did. And I was like. This is going to be a weird way for you to meet my dad.

Like, he's going to see you're younger than me. Not that that matters, but I mean, it was a thought. Well, it was

Alex: it's weird where like he didn't even know what we were. Obviously, there's some degree where they're going to be like thinking something.

Andra: My mom did say she's like, I knew there was a guy because I like stalled on booking the ticket for a couple hours while we talked things through.

She was like, I knew

Alex: there was someone. OK, and. Yeah, so, I mean, this is the funny thing too that you had spoken to me about, you were married in the past and you're like, I'm going to, the next person I date, I'm going to want to be with them for at least two years before they meet my parents or before they, yeah, before they meet your parents.

And this was, uh, uh, three weeks into us dating and I'm now going to not only be meeting your parents, but living with your parents.

Andra: Yeah. Life had other plans. Yeah. And I think that's like the one. Blessing. I mean, there's many, many blessings that came out of COVID, but I think it like, yeah, forced me to break down the rules that I had.

Do you think we would still be together if we hadn't moved back home or my home

Alex: at that stage? I mean, I, I think I would have like long distance. I'm, I was okay with it. My prior relationship was long distance, oddly enough, also Toronto, Buffalo, same kind of scenario, but, um, I think I, I would have tried, I don't know what it would have been like, like the conversations that we were having, just the things that happened in the day to day.

And, and to be honest, like, the, we ended up staying in Toronto for a year and a half. I don't know, like, that long of a time being long distance with someone, uh, I don't, I don't know. I don't know what would have happened. I would have tried. Like, it, it would, it was a no brainer to try the fact of actually moving in with you guys, like.

Andra: Yeah, I think there was a chance because we could have, like, kept in contact, but I think Emotionally, I was like so fragile during those early days of COVID that I would have probably like freaked out and just been like, I can't, I have to just be alone or something like that, which kind of did happen once we moved in with my

Alex: parents.

Okay. So, so we got plane tickets, we went to the airport. This was literally the first, so this day they actually shut the borders from US and Canada. So the, we did everything. It, I don't want to say the perfect time, actually like the worst time, but it was early enough that we were able to actually book in the plane tickets.

Um, so then we're going in there and they're doing the covid test type things, not covid test, but like literally asking you questions of like, did you travel outside of the country within the last 14 days? And do you have a fever and whatever, and they're asking you these questions over like you were somewhere over here.

And then I was, someone else came over to ask me these same questions, but they're like, shoot, I don't know the questions I'm supposed to ask you. And then Andra over here is, and she's like, oh, you're supposed to ask. And then Andra starts asking me the questions. Doing the person's job because they didn't even know what to do and it's like, no, I'm good.

I'm good. I'm gonna go. Okay, fine So then we're like waiting and obviously like everyone's in the state of like you don't want to touch anything You want to be careful? We didn't eat anything. We had to get food and like didn't have

Andra: masks Like we had shirts around our face. Yes. Yes, and then they weren't available at that

Alex: time and then so they're boarding the plane and here like every like They're boarding the plane, and the thing that you don't want to hear when boarding a plane, Alex Bass, can you please come to the front desk?

So I go over, of course, like your, your stomach just drops. Like, what is it? I've never, I've never in my life had this happen to me. So I went up there and I was like, hi, like, what's going on? They said, so we can't let you on the plane. And I was like, like, what? What? And they said, okay, so the borders are officially closed and I'm saying, like, physically, the computer software is not letting me let you board the plane.

And I was like, well, why? And they said, well, because you're a U. S. citizen, you can't just go into Canada. The borders are closed. And I was like, is there any way for me to possibly board this plane? Like, And they said, well, I mean, if your end destination is not Toronto, then I guess if it's a pass through, then that, that can work.

So I was like, okay, so what do I do? Like, do I book another plane flight to get to like Buffalo or something? And they said, um, I think you came up with the idea, like you can get a, maybe we can do a bus, like one of the, like the, the Greyhound bus things or whatever. So. I, they said, Yep, that would work. We just need to put something in the system showing that you're on destination is not Toronto because that is technically not legal right now or whatever.

So um, so I went, we went to the corner. Of course, people are boarding the plane. So like the clock is ticking down and I'm like, I don't even know what to do. I've never bought a bus ticket before, like in this way. So I'm going in and trying to figure this out. So then I book in the ticket, it was like 35 bucks, like nonrefundable, all these things like that.

Then I show it to the girl and I give her like the number and then she puts it in. She's like, okay, you can board the plane. And it's like, oh my gosh. Like, and we had talked about, I don't need to go on the, the, the bus. It's just a matter of getting in was the thing. 'cause the system didn't let us in.

Andra: I remember it was a $13 bus ticket.

I was like, 13. This is a pretty good hack. So, , I guess

Alex: your dad picked us up

Andra: at the airport. He picked us up at the airport and I think he was a

Alex: little bit Oh, you were, you were preparing me. You're like, okay. So my dad, like, he's, he's uh, in it and he, and I'm like, it's good. Like, I'm good with parents. This will be great.

Like I, my background's also in it, like part of the pivot in the business was into managed service provider. It like, I'm like, I can connect with it. Like it'll be fine. Um, Yeah, and then I think like, when, when he had like, waved us down, or waved you down, rather, I didn't, yeah, I was like, hello? And it was very, like, he, he, he was executional.

Like, I just need to get my daughter and get her home.

Andra: Yeah. Yeah. And you were trying to make small talk in the car. yeah. And he was giving you like, one word answers. Yeah. I mean, I. Like feel for him because he was probably in shock. Oh my god, the world's in a pandemic I had gotten a divorce in the previous like year or so or year and a half whatever it was and Now i'm like have this other person that i'm bringing home processing that and he's like I have no idea if he's your friend or your boyfriend or what is going on.

Yeah, and I had no idea so I understood where he was coming from, but I remember being in the car being like, is there a disappear button? Because I would like to press that right now.

Alex: But we got to your house and what did he, what did he ask you? Yeah. Like

Andra: when you were, uh, downstairs or something, he was like, so do you guys need separate rooms or the same room?

And I was like the same. And he was like, so what are you guys? And I'm like, I don't know. I was like, he's like, are you serious? I'm like as serious as you can be with someone you met three weeks ago. Yeah. So, yeah. And from there. Yeah, a year and a half. I mean, there was just so much that happened during that year and a half.

I mean,

Alex: even, even to the point of like, because now I was in Canada and the U. S. Canadian agreement is like, you can stay in from the U. S. citizens stay in Canada for six months max out of a year. So then it started like that. We thought that COVID might just be a two, three month thing. We even had like a dinner chat of like, how long do you think COVID is going to last?

And like, I think the longest point, I think your dad had said the longest point, but even that was not as long as it lasted. And. Um, I actually got to the point where I'm like, shoot, I actually need to file with the Canadian government to get like a visa. Like what is going on? Because the problem was the border, since the borders were closed, if I went to the U.

S. I would never be able to get back into Canada until COVID was over, whatever was going on with that. So there was this whole government thing that was going to keep us apart if we had left each other. It's like, you leave, you're not coming back in. And that was the state that we were in. So then I was like, I'm filing for a visa.

Are they going to give me a visa? Oh, so backlog didn't hear from them. I asked, of course, can I just stay through the end of the year, which would be a 12 month thing through December. Well, when it becomes November, And you're like, we still haven't heard back from them. Then that would mean that in December, if I stayed past that, I would be illegally in Canada.

So I'm like, Oh my gosh, what am I supposed to do? So then I, I filed again and you have to pay like a hundred dollars. So then I like pay it again. And I'm like, I don't even know if they've got my first one, like whatever. Um, and I'm just like, every day was waiting to hear back from the government. Cause at any day they can literally say that you can't be here and I would just have to leave.

I would just have to go back to the U S. And then the question too, is when do we get to see each other again?

Andra: Yeah, that was a big stress on our relationship. We both were like totally in the gray. And you're like paying for health insurance in the U. S. But you, like, health stuff came up. So you're like paying doctors in Canada.

And you're like, I feel like this is the ultimate. I'm paying like

Alex: six, because it's self employed. Like literally paying six, seven grand a year on health insurance. I'm like, I can't use any of this. And I'm paying out of pocket. I think one of the doctors was like, I needed an appointment. And they had said like, We only take cash and I'm like, I don't have cash.

You had to, we had to go to an ATM. You had to take cash out and I'm like, this is also so sketchy that they're making me pay in cash. Like what is going on? Yeah. So that that was a rough, a rough year.

Andra: Yeah, but through that we started working together. Trialing. Yeah, trialing it. So we had obviously focused like I'd say the first.

on our relationship mainly, but there were, because we were in a common line of work, like I had clients and you had clients and there was just some crossover that started happening. And we would like discuss all of our client problems together and work through things. And this could

Alex: be solved with automation.

Like, Oh, let me show you. And you

Andra: dove into like some of my clients and you like just built some kickass automations. Like I remember just being like, I'm like really impressed and like my business partner at the time, I remember he was like, I want to marry Alex. I was like,

Alex: I understand it's also like one of the things that I appreciate so much about the relationship is that when you can give something to your partner that in a way is like.

It's the thing that you're interested in and it's also a skill that you have like that feels rare. So to be able to literally in a way you said what you built was amazing. It's like I remember in that instance. That was like a 5 10 minute thing for me, but it had taken so long to get to that point and the fact that like you weren't both impressed and appreciative and all the things like how cool is that in a relationship to be able to give your partner that.

And, and it, and it overlaps monetary side of things too. Like it's just, it, it was really cool.

Andra: Yeah. Speaking of things of giving to me, we won't go into the full story here. Save this for another day. But, um, one thing that you got me was a super human subscription. And I remember being like, this is just such an awesome gift.

Like. You know, we have so many friends that like, like GIFs as their love language. That's not one of my top love languages at all, but that was like a cool thing because you really like, loved Superhuman and you introduced me to them. And yeah, I remember you paying for my annual subscription and I was like, what a relationship perk.

Um, so yeah, I guess we are going to do our next episode. About how we made our first investment together, but I want to wrap this one up to kind of just take people through the journey a year and a half in covid together and then we got vaccinated and then we were at a point where we were like we need to get out of.

Toronto or Canada. Yeah. Like we, we both knew we weren't really weren't going to live there long

Alex: term. We miss San Francisco. Like the life that we had there was something that I think we both just like yearned to get back. And yeah, that just delayed a year and

Andra: a half. We wanted to be in a tech hub. And for you, especially, I think being in Canada, there was just so many limitations.

Like you couldn't get access to software that you wanted because it wasn't available in Canada, or you couldn't get things shipped, or you would have to pay like. I think like more taxes and duties. So you were just like, what is this? And I remember being like, yeah, this is my whole childhood. You just see all the commercials on TV, but all the things that are available in the States, but you can't get them here.

Alex: So we, I mean, we, this was also the investing side of things, like in the market, because I realized how easy it was for me to invest. In the stock market and how, like for you to buy us companies, you'd have to convert Canadian dollars to us dollars and pay a fee on that and then convert back and all this stuff like that.

So six months into, into like knowing each other and dating, I remember literally just. I mean, I'm more open to talking about money and things like that. I think I just asked you how much money you have and is it invested? Maybe I started with like, are you, is your money invested? And you're like, no, it's in savings.

And then I'm like, In this, this level, like if you're like, cool, I have like two grand in savings and it's like, whatever. But I was like, wait, how much do you have in your savings? And then I was like, you need to invest, like you need to invest.

Andra: Yeah, I remember you like kind of, you had shown me your net worth and like all your bank accounts.

And then like, well, I'm showing

Alex: you the company revenue, like all that stuff is just like, I'm open, like to the journey and growth and all the things. You're

Andra: being very transparent. And I was not used to that because in like my previous relationships, there was just not that openness around money. And I think like.

For most people, there's just not that level of openness. So it was new for me. And I remember like, I'm like, I bet you he wants to know my like net worth, but I wasn't saying it. And then, you know, like you like trickled it in, like planted seeds until one day I remember at the kitchen table, you're like, so what's your net worth?

How much money do you have? And I told you and you're like, we need a plan. Yeah. And I was like, what do you mean? And you're like, all right, we need to get you to start investing. And I had money like in Canada and Australia and you're like, we got to get you to transfer it. And the truth is like, I love that this podcast is about angel investing and, um, finances in a way.

Well, not really, but you had really like started me on that journey of becoming more financially literate. And yeah, in a way it's a shame that it took meeting you to even get to that point, but yeah, we started having a lot of conversations around money and investing and you were like, so patient with teaching me.

I remember you brought out a graph of the stock market because I was like, what if I lose my money? And you're like, what is the trend? Do you see that even like the worst point here compared to where we are now, it's all trending upwards. So if you hold for long enough, like you're going to get, uh. Like more returns and you started teaching me about building wealth and that was, yeah, really like eye opening and really the beginning of our angel investing journey.

And then obviously that helps with the business as well, because when you have a business together, like money is right. In the center of it, you have to talk about it all the time. Okay. So then we went, just to wrap up the story, we left Canada and we went to Buffalo. We spent a few months in Buffalo meeting your family for the first time.

Well, the border.

Alex: So we get to the border. Oh yeah. And. It was this thing where we genuinely, obviously building this up, we toyed with the idea for many months of like, maybe we can both just walk over the border together, like maybe there's a chance that they would let this happen. Um, so what you did was what we had learned was you can fly into the U S if you're a Canadian citizen, but you can't.

Driver you can't cross the border land border. Yeah, actually. Yeah. So what what you did was you spent a 1, 000 on a plane ticket that should have been 150 whatever to go from Toronto to Buffalo and It was in a way a backup if that plan didn't work and part of us were like maybe like it's fine and the plane ticket was also from Toronto to Chicago to somewhere else to Buffalo.

There's no direct flight because all the stuff with COVID and they're shutting a lot of the planes out and stuff like that. So it was a 16, 17, 18 hour flight that you're going to embark on it. And here I am just going to like walk over the border. So we, we walk over the board is so nerve wracking. You and me just walking over the border together and then there's the U S border.

Patrol. And they asked like, uh, country of origin, whatever I said, U. S. and they asked, you said Canada. And then he's like, you can't come over. And he was like, he was just like stern. And it's like, um, like, is there, is there any way, like, you know, we've been living together, like we're, we're, what is the whole thing where it's like, if you're living together over a year, then Yeah.

And then he laughed. It's like, no, like it does not work that way. And then he was short of, well,

Andra: he said. Yeah. Yeah. Are you married? And we're like, no. And you're like, can

Alex: we get married here? They were not having any of this. He

Andra: was so annoyed. He was like, who's going to marry you here? Like, and yeah, basically I was like, take my suitcase.

I pushed it off to you. I gave you a hug. I remember you like tried to like do an emotional, like you asked him for a minute and I was like, no, I'm seeing you tomorrow because I like did not. By that point, like we had been so attached for like a year and a half and you were, I

Alex: figured there'd be some way that he would just be like, okay, okay.

Go. And it was Very much. No, he had no, no. Yeah.

Andra: Possible, but no, no. And yeah, I just knew that I wanted to like, I didn't want to not have you in my life or like be with you at that point. So it was a bit tough for me, like driving back home. Mm-hmm. , even though I knew I was gonna get on a plane tomorrow day, which there was

Alex: a level that we didn't know if that would even work.

Like, I mean that was

Andra: so, there's just so much anxiety. You had to have like a negative covid test and all

Alex: these other things. They didn't let you back into Canada. You're in a, you're in a weird, no, they, they almost made you quarantine for two weeks. And then that would have made you miss the plane flight.

But luckily, because you proved that you had your COVID vaccine, they let you back into the country without quarantine. And all you had done is just walked the land border and then walked right back on the same bridge. And they were literally like, all these things could have gone wrong that we didn't even know could happen.

So then your parents, essentially, you guys drove back and then the next day you jumped on the flight in the morning and. 17, 16 hours later on plane flights, you were in Buffalo,

Andra: you and your brother picked me up. I remember seeing Bobby, your brother for the first time being like, Oh, I feel like met you over somebody's zoom or whatever Google meet calls.

And yeah, I met all your family, which was amazing. And then we were thinking about where we were going to live. So we both wanted a tech hub. So Buffalo was not part of that. And you had already left. So we were like, let's go back to San Francisco. And when we. did we booked like a three month stay at Outsite where we first met and the city had just changed.

I think like most people listening that know anything about San Francisco would understand what we mean by that, but it was just like not safe. Definitely sketchy is the best word to describe it. Yeah. And Yeah, as much as, like, we had fun during that time, like, it didn't feel like home. And for me, moving to the U.

S., it just didn't feel like a place I wanted to, like, raise kids or grow roots or anything like that.

Alex: Could we just say that we, I mean, the plan was to go back to SF to try to pick things up where they left off. And we were living with my brother for three months during that time period. And he had started getting into engineering and, uh, he was job interviewing when we were living with him and stuff like that.

And he got a job. And, uh, Two, three weeks after that, we were going to be leaving, going to San Francisco. And he had just seen like, we had all these stories of all these things happening and he's just like, I think I want to go to like San Francisco when I visit or something. And he just convinced himself to maybe I should just sell my house and come with you guys and do digital nomads.

So within like a two week time period, he decided to sell his house to come with us to San Francisco together. And we essentially did the outside thing with him in San Francisco. Yeah. That was the

Andra: best. Yeah. I remember being like, do you need like time to plan? And he's like, no, I'm ready. Yeah. He was like, all right, let's go.

Yeah. That was cool. And now he's moving to Austin. Yeah. Yes. So yeah, we wrapped up our time in. San Francisco now, went back to Buffalo for the holidays, and then we were like, let's try Austin as a city. And that's where we still live today. And we got here and within the first day, it was January at the time, which was freezing cold in Buffalo.

And we got here and it was like. You know, probably 69, yeah, 70. Like, you know, I was wearing a jacket and we went to Manana on South Congress for coffee and we sat on the patio and we met our friend David, who was living here.

Alex: One of my, my, my close friends from Buffalo, like he was also tentatively like living in Austin.

So it's like this Buffalo friend that I'm used to hanging out with in Buffalo that like is in the CRM space. He meets up with us like our first day in Austin and it's just like, what is going on? Like this, like, it just like felt like home so quickly in

Andra: a way. Very quickly. And we actually knew a few people that were living in Austin.

And then we were meeting with them like, like Emma was here. And then we met with her and there was just like familiar faces. And for me, for that coupled with the good coffee at Manana coupled with the sunshine in January was like, I like Austin and I can see myself living here. It is. Very close to, it's the closest American city to Melbourne, which is what I wanted because I really liked living in Melbourne.

It was just way too far. So coming to Austin felt like home very quickly for me. And I was so happy that I found a U S city that I felt like home in. Cause I wasn't sure if I would.

Alex: Oh, you, you were sold after that first. Day. And then you would ask me, or you'd, you were like, what do you think? Like, expect me to be like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing to everything.

I was like, it's been a day. I need to see what the people are like. Like I loved SF because of the people there and the relationships and the tech and everything. I'm like, I don't know what that's like here yet. So. You were sold on it immediately. I think it took two weeks time or so because we met a lot of great people.

And it's like, yeah, I think this is the place. Yeah.

Andra: Yeah. Okay. So I think this wraps up our first episode. Yeah. So next episode, we're going to go into more detail about our first investment. In motion and also how you asked me to marry you.

Alex: Not, not the traditional way that most people do.

Andra: So stay tuned and yeah, high five.

We did it. We could air high five.

Alex: So it's like is this the time to angel invest but even there's the scary stuff that I'm like, oh my gosh Like are we getting scammed? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity Is there any chance that you would actually be open to getting married so that we can invest?