TK Kong

2021 in review

Published

I’m honestly shocked that it’s already 2022 and I’ll be turning 24 soon. At first, I wasn’t going to write a year-in-review post but I want to look back at these posts as artifacts of my personal growth over the years.

2021 was surprisingly an eventful year filled with travel & learnings. I moved into my apartment in NYC, I traveled to Utah, Miami (3x), LA, and SF, and I transitioned into a Product Management role at work. I also spent more time on Twitter (+4,007 followers), exploring crypto/web3, and playing poker.

Reviewing 2021 Goals

Well, I didn’t hit any of my 2020 goals. But, I believe that’s because I prioritized. (Starting to sound more like a PM 😂)

  1. Instead of writing 12 posts, I spent more time on Twitter engaging with the community.
  2. Instead of building once and selling 10,000x, I developed interest in crypto/web3 in 2021. I spent more time reading than building in 2021 until December when I launched the Crypto Wrapped project. More on this below.
  3. In 2021, I wanted to grow interns.design but frankly didn't spend much time on it. I think my interests have shifted as I've become more removed from the design student community. I hope to transfer ownership to other community members.

Noteworthy 2021 Events

My Punk

  1. In February, I officially moved from Product Design into a Product Management role at Ramp (Personal News Tweet). Since then, I shipped projects in various areas like Growth, Accounting, and Spend Management. In 2021, the Ramp team grew from 50 → 220 & the product team grew from 3 → 6. I spent the last 2 quarters leading the Spend Management team which covers a lot of our core product offering today like card issuing, receipt submission, and reimbursements.
  2. I went on a couple trips. I snowboarded for 4 days straight in Salt Lake City, Utah and went to Miami (March, August, November). I also went on personal vacation trips to LA and SF.
  3. I rabbit-holed into crypto/web3. Maybe it was the FOMO from Twitter but I’ve found it fascinating. I traded random coins and bought NFTs on Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche. In December, I pulled together a team of friends to build and ship Crypto Wrapped, “Spotify Wrapped” for on-chain activity. It was a thrilling time building in web3, learning about crypto APIs, and diving into the raw transaction data. More than 1,200 wallets generated their 2021 #CryptoWrapped and we received 2.17Ξ in donations.

Favorite 2021 Reads

2022 Goals

Someone recently asked me if I had any new year resolutions. I’ve always found these hard to keep up with. But I gave it some thought and came up with a list.

  1. Launch 1 crypto/web3 project.

    Lately, I’ve been fascinated by the crypto space. My friends and I launched Crypto Wrapped which was consumer & NFT-focused. But personally, I’m more interested in the defi / infrastructure space. I hope to gain more knowledge in this area, identify key problems, and ship a project.

  2. Workout 3x a week.

    I’ve always wanted to be more fit but never committed to going to the gym on a recurring basis. In 2022, I want to change that and keep myself accountable for going to the gym 3x a week. I’m picking up a physical calendar this week to cross out with a red mark on the dates I worked out!

  3. Be more intentional with my time.

    This isn’t a measurable goal but more so a framework for time management in 2022. I came across this tweet from Brian Armstrong (Coinbase).

    "Imagine where you want to be in 5 years. Then think through what that requires you to get done this year. And then don't spend any time during the year on activities that don't point you in that direction."

    I’m still letting the advice sink in.

  4. Other misc. goals but one needs to prioritize their goals right? 😊

That’s all! My emoji going into the new year is 💪. Pumped & ready for 2022. Connect with me on Twitter @thetkkong to stay in the loop.

Don't miss out on the next post, subscribe below!
← Read Other Posts