Velasquez took away countless lessons learned from his experience, especially from the cocaptain, Spanish sailor and former Olympian Chuny Bermúdez, who Velasquez fondly refers to as the Steve Jobs of sailing. Bermúdez’s saying, “When bad weather is coming, have the bunks full,” also applies to life and business, Velasquez says.
“Sometimes it’s time to recharge batteries,” explains Velasquez. “You have to be rested for when the storm hits.”
His favorite Bermúdez aphorism is: “It’s not the first mistake that kills you; it’s the second.” Even midstorm, when stakes were high, Bermúdez would remind the crew to pause and think about their solution, executing only once they had the right plan. “Impulsiveness can often mean death on the boat and in business,” Velasquez says.
Bermúdez also taught him boats sink not because of poor decisions made at sea, but because of those made on land before setting sail. It’s a lesson that can be applied to entrepreneurship too.
“Oftentimes, it’s not the market or the competition that kill you. It’s not having crucial elements such as product-market fit figured out before going out fundraising,” says Velasquez.
When Velasquez set foot in Spain, he was sleep deprived and physically exhausted. But he arrived with a greater appreciation for all of the small things in his life. “This experience put everything about life into perspective. It reminded me at a really deep level how fortunate we are, and that not living life to the fullest means sacrificing this gift,” he says.
The chance to break from his day-to-day changed him, both personally and professionally, for the better. “It’s really hard to step out of that routine and try something different,” he says, “especially if it involves a large degree of pain. But I truly believe that, within that pain and the walking into the unknown, that’s where the most valuable experiences and insights into life are.”