Post by Arne Wolfewicz

Nine months ago I shut down my company and went quiet. Here's the short version. We made the call to wind down Narratic AI. It wasn't the outcome I wanted – I believed in where we were headed and wasn't done proving it – but it was the right one. The unexpected break gave me room to think about what I actually want – and I realized the setup we'd built was never quite the right fit for me. Since then, a lot happened. I spent more time with my family. I'd lost focus on myself in recent years, so I took care of my mind and body and I got back into making music. I had a reunion at Levity and got to tap into logistics again – a two-fold return to the roots. I worked with a few teams on some of their hardest problems. And I built a machine for myself that I’ve been wanting for many years. Building a company and winding it down taught me a few things about myself: - I love working on genuinely hard problems, and I like building things. - Cash in the bank is convenient – but it doesn't buy better decisions. - I like sales. I don't like selling. - Hiring early works for many founders. The people we brought in were brilliant and I learned a ton from them – but I also learned that adding people doesn't fix a missing core, and that I'm at my best building lean. - I found out I have ADHD – and I'm learning to use it as the superpower it can be. - There isn't anything I need to be afraid of; most of the fears I had never materialized and I survived the ones that did. Today, I'm nothing but grateful – for the experience, and for the people who made it possible: Hagen Hoferichter David Hinrichs Nils Wilhelm Luis Kisters and the rest of our team, our investors and mentors Dr. Dennis Zeiler Dr. Markus Gick Nicole Becker Lothar Harings Philipp Banhardt Stavros Papadopoulos Julius Bolz Ben Staudt Joseph Carnarius Tim Wagner Paul-Lukas Josten Philipp Kandal Jan Markus Hoffmann Jan Wohlleben Felix Suellwold Paul Frorath Marie Richter Julian Max Koster Elias A. as well as the countless customers and partners that I got to work with during that chapter of my life. Thank you to all of you! So – what's next? For the first time in a while, I know exactly.