Why I Write This & What It Stands For

Revisiting the first year of The Kitchen Fridge

It has been one year since I started this blog. I know this because the leaves are falling and the weather is cooling and so I take longer walks to enjoy it. And last year, when the leaves fell and the weather cooled, I took longer walks to enjoy that. And on those walks, I thought about creating this blog – what it would look like and ultimately what it would stand for. 

I can tell you now, much more than I could tell you then, what this blog means – both to me and to its larger purpose in the blogosphere. Intentionality has come as a side effect of creation. And it has taken shape so naturally that I wonder why I ever plan anything.  

The Kitchen Fridge has transformed from its boundaryless state into a boundary-ed embodiment of me. It represents me, and it inspires me. Writing for it pushes me. Researching for it interests me. Publishing on it motivates me. It has been the start of so many conversations with friends or acquaintances that I have enjoyed. It’s a walking advertisement (a “bat signal” as

Matt Yao

so aptly put it in his last post) for what I want to talk about and what I want to learn about. It’s my platform to prove what I was thinking and when. It has been a roadmap to track if I was on the ball or not. And eventually, it will be cold, hard proof that I was wrong about certain things. 

Fred Wilson, a VC who is also a prolific writer on his blog AVC, described the downsides of publicizing opinions best. In a tweet where he was called out for an incorrect assumption around the future of VC funding, Fred responds: “One of so many bad calls I’ve made over the years. All public. All available for critique. But I can, and do, learn from my mistakes and so can anyone else because I’ve made them in public.” Being publicly wrong is risky, but the benefits of pushing yourself to generate thoughts constantly and publicly I hope are worth it. 

More subtly, this blog has a message and a greater purpose. Intentionality has separated The Kitchen Fridge into three sections: “the meat” for business trends, “the sauce” for life musings, and “shelf space” to highlight the perspectives of others. While we are so often pushed by society to pick one identity to build upon, The Kitchen Fridge rejects this for the overwhelming belief that humans are multi-faceted and multi-interested. Colliding the personal and the professional shows that those who are business savvy are also self-reflective. That the same people who enjoy reading thought pieces like business pieces and the other way around. That you don’t need to follow many blogs or many platforms to fulfill this well-rounded craving. The Kitchen Fridge is the blog answer to that classic question of: “what is the one food you would take to a desert island?” The Kitchen Fridge embodies, all in one place, what I would want to read in the hopes that others out there want this too. 

And ultimately, The Kitchen Fridge has collected a subscriber base as wide-ranging as the topics it touches on. It is followed by startup founders, venture capitalists, friends from work, school, and growing up, and also by their mothers. And I get responses from all of them, over the weeks. Some parties more vocal on certain topics than others but all, I hope, reading everything. And all, I hope, learning something. 

If you have any suggestions for how I can improve this blog in its second year of life, let me know by email or text. If you have interesting people for me to interview, tell me here. 

It has been a unique year. I’m grateful for all of you, and I’m excited for year two.