How I Built a Startup While Traveling to 20 Countries

One year ago, I left San Francisco, sold and gave away everything I owned, and moved into a 40-liter backpack.

I traveled to 45 cities in 20 countries, three Disneylands, and one bunny island.

I also worked 50 hours a week building and launching a startup.

And my total costs were less than just the rent in San Francisco.

Traveling is not the same as vacation

There’s a growing community of “digital nomads” who live a location-independent lifestyle. We’re software developers, designers, writers, journalists, engineers and all sorts of people who share a passion for the work we do and experiencing the world.

I propose that a nomadic lifestyle is a productive way to build a real company. I’m working hard on bootstrapping an ambitious startup, Moo.do. I’m traveling because it’s cheaper, more productive and more inspiring than sitting in one place. Traveling is the most responsible choice for the sake of my company, my finances, and my personal growth.

Related: A Frequent Business Traveler's Rewarding Trip to 'Nowhere'

I became a nomad by accident

Three years ago I was preparing to leave my job at Microsoft to move to San Francisco to build a startup. My friend asked me, “but why do you need to be in San Francisco when you can work on a computer from anywhere?” His question made a lot of sense. As I thought about it more, I began to question my assumptions about a “normal life” which don’t make sense in our modern world.

I reject the idea of a 9–5 job. I want to explore the world while the sun is out instead of wasting the daylight hours working inside and dreaming of my next vacation.

I reject the idea of settling down. I want to experience new cultures and eat new foods instead of being stuck in the neighborhood around my house.

I reject the idea of stuff. It’s not the size of my TV that matters. The world is much more interesting than what’s in my house.

I reject the idea of boredom. I’m constantly surrounded by new places, people and experiences. I haven’t felt bored since I started traveling and I don’t even have the desire to watch TV or play video games anymore.

I reject the idea of a bucket list. I have a list of things to do and I’m doing them.

So off I went, with my crazy new ideas about life in tow. I spent six months traveling around Australia, Asia and Europe. But it didn’t work out so well.

I gave up and still moved to San Francisco. Traveling was fun, but I had a great idea and I needed to really focus and get real work done. What better place to build my startup than Silicon Valley?

But I soon found myself becoming too comfortable and slowing down, getting easily bored and distracted, and watching a lot of TV. I sat at my computer for 12 hours a day but didn’t feel like I was productive.

On a trip to New York, my friends went to work during the days, so I went out and worked in coffee shops and in Central Park. Suddenly I was hugely productive, getting much more work done in six hours than in my normal 12-hour days. The same thing happened a few months later on a trip to London. I was even coming up with better ideas because the new experiences and surroundings were keeping my mind more active.

Having figured out the pattern, I left San Francisco a year ago, fully committing to a nomadic lifestyle. And this time it feels like I’ve figured it out. I’m happy, productive, meeting great new people, learning about real global problems to solve, and I successfully launched Moo.do.

This is what I’ve learned over the past year.

Traveling is cheaper than staying at home

These are actual numbers calculated from my personal spending habits. Your mileage may vary.

median rent is much more than this at $3,120, but Seattle’s median is less at $1,800.

The total cost of living in Chiang Mai, Thailand is $641 per month.

Related: Cheaper Business Flights and Other Travel Trends for 2015

Traveling makes me more productive

When I first started traveling, I was a great tourist, taking pictures of everything and doing all the activities listed in tour guides. After a couple of exhausting weeks it occurred to me that I’m not on vacation. This is my life now. I slowed down and realized that if I have a month to explore a new city, I don’t need to do it all at once. I can explore the city for a few hours and still get a lot of work done.

I was surprised to find out that I’m significantly more productive while traveling. But it makes sense. If I’m only in Rome for a week, why would I waste my time on Facebook? Being constantly surrounded by novelty reduces my boredom and increases my focus, and even makes me feel healthier and more creative.

walk it off until I’ve solved it. Cycling between fun and work makes my days less exhausting and makes me less prone to burnout.

My stay at Livit in Bali was the most productive time of my life. It’s an integrated co-living and co-working space, with all meals provided, so I could focus on my work and not worry about anything. And it’s all inclusive for $1,500 per month, less than just the rent in most major tech cities. This is a great trend and I’m happy to see it growing as similar startup getaways are popping up in Bali and around the world.

Traveling expands my cultural bubble

I now have friends all over the world whose life experiences are very different than mine. They bring fresh perspectives to my ideas. I’m learning about the real problems that affect the world on a global scale, which will make me into a better entrepreneur in the future.

It’s easy to find great people to learn from. There are co-working spaces in many cities where digital nomads can meet peers from around the world and find collaborators. Nomads give each other travel and work advice on Reddit and Nomad Forum, there’s over a thousand of us (and growing) in a chatroom at hashtagnomads.com, and the community is organizing meetups all over the world.

Conclusion

It’s never been easier to live and work as a nomad. Traveling is cheaper, more productive, and more inspiring than staying at home. Working in an office is a relic of the past.

The digital nomad revolution is just beginning and I’m excited to help it grow. I hope you and I will meet some time, somewhere out there.