Spending Time In LA

When we moved from Kelowna to Los Angeles, it wasn’t about escaping Canada or chasing the “Hollywood dream.” It was about giving our kids a bigger world to look at.

We love Kelowna — it’s home, family is there, and it’s where we started. But we also wanted Paisley and Knox to see what it feels like when the pond gets bigger.

⏳️ Estimated Read Time: 5.5 minutes (of packed jewels)

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Ria and I were born in (and have so much love for) Kelowna, British Columbia. The people, the four season playground, and many of the values are all part of our foundation. It’s where we built businesses, built friendships, and built lives.

But sometimes a fish only grows as big as it’s bowl, at a certain point, we wondered if staying in the same pond meant our kids might never know how big the world really is.

The decision to relocate for a few years with visas to Los Angeles wasn’t about leaving Kelowna behind. It was partially about showing Paisley and Knox something more: a bigger pond, a wider lens, a reminder that opportunity doesn’t just exist in the backyard — it’s global. Trying to balance our values alongside our aspirations, we found a family-friendly surfer town in southern Los Angeles that was a far cry from the traffic-ridden hustle bustle of the big city (but we can visit it whenever we want 😄 ).

But this decision was also about us. We had this move written on a Dream Card years ago. It was something we’d always talked about. And sometimes, you need to honor the vision of your younger self. As I often remind people, the Dream Card doesn’t just help you set your sail, it helps you make decisions.The Virgil Abloh Reminder

One idea that stuck with us through this whole process comes from Virgil Abloh: “Everything I do is for my 17-year-old self.”

For me, that resonates deeply. At 13 or 15, the dream was simple: grow up, have an amazing partner, a family, a chance to live by the ocean and do work that mattered. Today, we’re kind of living that out.

The reminder is to not lose track of that younger self. They’re still in there, watching. Whether it’s surfing with our kids, building businesses, or just enjoying the sun — our lives today would blow away the teenage version of ourselves.

We didn’t pick Los Angeles because it was convenient. We picked it because it’s a gateway city.

For us, the pull was simple: it’s a city that keeps you in motion. Our kids now have friends whose parents are rocket scientists, pro athletes, lawyers, entrepreneurs, Jewish, Hindu, and Catholic. Their eyes are being widened just by proximity.

Money can make your way in the world more easily, but the path we’ve taken has been through education.

Ria enrolled in UCLA Extension. It’s an international certificate program — not a loophole, not immigration advice, just an option available to almost anyone (most of her classmates are ~20 years old). The program gave us a way to live here, continue our value of life-long learning, inspire our kids that it’s never too late to try something new, and experience this lifestyle.

The lesson is you don’t always need the perfect conditions to make a move. You just need a door. Sometimes that door looks like an accessible program instead of a million-dollar windfall.

Paisley and Knox love it, for the most part. They miss their friends and family back home, and they notice the pace here is faster. Kids in SoCal grow up a little quicker. There’s more to keep up with.

But they also love the surf, the outdoor lifestyle, the fact that in December you can still be outside in shorts. And as their parents, we can tell that they are deeply inspired by the magnitude of what feels possible here.

When we first came down in the winter of 2022 and visited San Diego, Palm Springs, and Manhattan Beach, they were hooked. The idea of living somewhere where it’s sunny, active, and outdoors almost year-round was an easy sell.

We reminded them of that first trip when the school year rolled around. “Remember how excited we were? Remember how we all said we’d try this?” It became a family experiment, not a permanent relocation. That gave them space to buy in.

When people think “LA,” they picture gridlocked freeways, Beverly Hills mansions, or downtown skyscrapers. But that’s not our life.

We live in a surf town that’s just two miles by two miles. No building over two stories. Mostly families. You can bike almost everywhere.

It doesn’t feel like Los Angeles at all, it feels like a small town that happens to sit next to one of the world’s biggest cities. And that’s been the secret. The environment makes daily life healthier, simpler, and more aligned with how we want to live.

This move wasn’t just about geography. It was about values:

Not everyone can or should move abroad. Obligations and responsibilities are real. And not everyone likes a big city - so do what’s aligned for YOU!

But here’s the takeaway:

You can make decisions that expand your world — and your kids’ worlds — without waiting for permission.

That might look like a course, a short-term move, or even just traveling somewhere new as a family. It doesn’t have to be permanent or perfect. It just has to give you perspective.

The world is bigger than where you start.

What others are saying

One thing we’ve been talking about lately is how The Fountain can be more than stories and lessons. What if it was also a way to give back — together?

With Thanksgiving coming up, we want to try something small and meaningful:

Because gratitude is better when it’s shared.

👉 Reply to this email with the name of a charity or family you’d nominate. We’ll share the results in our Canadian Thanksgiving edition, next week.

Let’s see what happens when positivity meets action!!

Thanks in advance.

Pitch Kitsch Teaser

We get pitched every day — in the inbox, on LinkedIn, at the rink. Instead of letting those ideas drift by, we’re interest in giving them the stage.

Here’s the idea:

“Pitch Kitsch” → A monthly show where founders get a few minutes to pitch Ria and I live.

No fluff. No guarantees. Just clarity, questions, and lessons that help every founder watching. We want The Fountain’s thoughts before anyone else.

Update on ASML

Update: When I first shared my ASML trade, shares were sitting around $633. A couple months later (now), the stock has blown past $1,049 today — a 65% gain.

So what now?

Thanks again to Joseph Carlson for putting ASML on my radar.

Did you listen to my rationale back then? Any investments on your radar you want to share with the fountain - let us know.