Season 5 of the Ajay Show

1. People don’t have a life’s work. Just seasons.

A few years ago, Blackbird (a VC firm) had this investing theme around backing founders who were doing their life’s work. When they interviewed me for an article, they asked:

“So why is this your life’s work?”

I remember shrugging and saying:

“Eh… this isn’t my life’s work. This is just Season 5 of the Ajay Show.”

I meant it. At the time, I was obsessed with education. I still love teaching, but calling it my life’s work felt like a stretch. The truth is: most of us don’t have a singular life’s work. We have seasons.

One season might be about startups. Another about learning. Another about rebuilding yourself. Right now, my season is Growth at Superpower.

And that’s enough.

I don’t need to pretend this is my “forever work.” It’s just the work that matters right now.Life is ever change and thinking in seasons is powerful.

2. When you’re young, Focus on Value, Not Valuation.

I spent most of my 20s paying myself nothing and rolling every “win” straight into the next experiment. On paper, it was a pretty mediocre financial outcome. But towards the end of the decade, I started to notice something: my valuation was finally catching up to my value.

In startups, valuation is just the sticker price—what someone’s willing to pay today. Value is deeper: cashflow, impact, leverage.

The same holds true for people.

• Valuation = salary, net worth, job title

• Value = skills, relationships, ability to build

In 2022, salaries were inflated everywhere. It felt like an auction where everyone was a temporary millionaire. But just like stock prices, that didn’t last. And when the market cooled, the people without real value had nothing to stand on.

What lasts is value. If you build rare skills, compounding networks, and real leverage, valuation always catches up.

The mental model is simple:

• Valuation oscillates.

• Value compounds.

Don’t be a bad life investor. In your 20s, over-index on building value, not chasing valuation.

3. Zero-Day Attacks on Life Are Fun.

Hackers talk about “zero-day exploits”—bugs that no one else has found yet. In life, those are the moments you get to do something first.

One of my strangest: becoming one of the first Australians to ever get a Nigerian BVN (a kind of bank verification number). Running a startup in Africa, I kept hitting walls. But every time I solved something no one else had figured out, it was exhilarating.

Your 20s are the perfect time for these “zero-day attacks.” Travel somewhere unusual. Build something weird. Try the career zigzag. The downside risk is low, and the stories you collect are worth more than the safe, linear path.

4. Zero-Day Attacks on Life Are Fun.

The most important lesson, though? People.

Looking back, the best parts of my 20s weren’t the projects, the funding rounds, or the experiments. They were the people I did them with.

At Superpower, I love my team. The work is meaningful, but it’s the people that make me want to get up and do it every day.

Find the people you want to “do life” with. For me, that means building amazing stuff together. For you, it might mean something different. But the pattern is universal:

• Projects fade.

• People compound.

Closing Thoughts

Your 20s are for experiments. Some will fail. Some will be ridiculous. Some will shape the rest of your life.

As I step into my 30s, the frameworks I’m keeping are simple:

• Live in seasons, not balance.

• Build value, not just valuation.

• Chase zero-day attacks.

• Do life with great people.

That’s it. If my 30s are just a deeper version of that playbook, I’ll be happy.

Until next time,

Ajay

🧠 Ajay’s Resource Bank

A few tools and collections I’ve built (or obsessively curated) over the years:

• 100+ Mental Models
  Mental shortcuts and thinking tools I’ve refined over the past decade. These have evolved as I’ve gained experience — pruned, updated, and battle-tested.

• 100+ Questions
  If you want better answers, ask better questions. These are the ones I keep returning to — for strategy, reflection, and unlocking stuck conversations.

• Startup OS
  A lightweight operating system I built for running startups. I’m currently adapting it for growth teams as I scale Superpower — thinking about publishing it soon.

• Remote Games & Activities
  Fun team-building exercises and games (many made in Canva) that actually work. Good for offsites, Zoom fatigue, or breaking the ice with distributed teams.

✅ Ajay’s “would recommend” List

These are tools and services I use personally and professionally — and recommend without hesitation:

• Athyna – Offshore Hiring Done Right
  I personally have worked with assistants overseas and built offshore teams. Most people get this wrong by assuming you have to go the lowest cost for automated work. Try hiring high quality, strategic people for a fraction of the cost instead.

• Superpower – It starts with a 100+ lab tests
  I joined Superpower as Head of Growth, but I originally came on to fix my health. In return, I got a full diagnostic panel, a tailored action plan, and ongoing support that finally gave me clarity after years of flying blind.
  (Want a discount code? Just reply to this email.)