09: Raphael Szmir on Having a Mission and Building a Startup while Travelling

While most entrepreneurs in Chiang Mai are chasing passive income, Raphael is on passionate mission to help young people with their gap year decisions. His startup, Années Sabbatiques (literally Gap Years in French) is an online portal for discovering gap year opportunities. Despite his dedication to Années Sabbatiques, Raphael has achieved his lifestyle goal of location independence and regular vacation time. Listen as Raph and I discuss his path to location independence and  the experience of building a startup on the road. Show Notes [2:32] A life-changing Gap year in Australia, catching the travel bug and making the choice to pursue travel after graduation [6:22] Taking the first steps towards location independence [7:52] How Raphael built his career and made it work within his ideal lifestyle [12:26] The importance of having a mission and working with companies who share it [17:16] How Raphael built the skills that allowed him to be location independent, his transition into working remotely and how he makes his work, work for him [23:31] Doing work that fulfils while still making money [24:46] Raphael’s Startup, Années Sabbatiques [28:37] The challenges of building a startup on the road, how Raphael went about gaining client work and the one client ended up making all the difference [35:31] The advantages of finding work before leave your home country [37:42] Raphael’s travel journey so far and the transition from backpacker to digital nomad [41:36] Raphael’s favourite places to work remotely [43:14] Raphael’s top tips for those looking to become location independent Links Mentioned Love Affair Travel podcast Pieter Levels - 12 startups in 12 months Natalie Sisson - Suitcase Entrepreneur Années Sabbatiques - Anneessabitique.com Episode 5 with Chris Chui Dylan’s Story