Justin Carrus: visionary tech entrepreneur, engineer, and AI

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If you do the same thing as everyone else, you get the same results as everyone else.

There were a few "weird" decisions I made in my life that shaped my life trajectory: applying to a competitive summer program in high school that I was underqualified for, switching majors in college because I didn't feel inspired by my peers, spending a summer teaching abroad instead of getting a job in industry. I don't know if they were the "right" choices for everyone, but---looking back---they were the right choices for me and were instrumental in how my life has turned out.

When I went to college, I wanted to build cool stuff that connected people and that you could actually touch, like a car or plane. I took a class in the Aerospace department and everyone else wanted to go to space, which I did not, so I changed course. I did internships at Ford and Chrysler and realized that most people working at a car company design a very small component, which did not interest me. It also seemed like a lot of paperwork.

I started taking classes and doing research in a lab that focused on helping developing regions of the world. I traveled to northern Botswana a few times to learn about life and needs in remote areas, which eventually led me to develop a new type of compressed earth brick press that enabled people to build strong mud huts with less cement. After experiencing how difficult it was to get philanthropic sponsorship for my brick press, I started learning about entrepreneurship.

I tried to start a smart IoT lighting company, which failed after about a year. I got a job at a manufacturing software startup and saw firsthand how a team of smart, dedicated people can will a company into existence. Then I thought it was time to try again for myself and now am currently working with a smart, driven team to will a better tomorrow into existence through Perygee.

Don't be afraid to do something different. Put yourself out there.

Trying may be the only way to find out what you like.

I feel a connection and obligation to "do the right thing" for humanity, the planet, etc. I want to spend my time and energy building a better tomorrow, whether it be in my professional work or in how I connect with my family, friends, and community.

I do enjoy novelty, creativity, and solving puzzles. Finding a career that includes those things is important to me. To me, work often feels like play, and when there's some boring work to be done, the greater meaning and purpose are enough to help me finish and move on to something more personally rewarding.

You should learn about yourself to better understand what gives you energy.

Setbacks are a part of life. Learn to learn from them and choose joy.

I tried to start an Internet-of-Things smart-lighting company the year after I graduated from college. After almost a year of trying and failing, we decided to shut down. When I told our main advisor, she said, "Congratulations, you can finally call yourself an entrepreneur," which was exactly the shift in perspective that I needed at that moment.

My high school calculus teacher was incredible. Equally respected and feared, he forced everyone to pass the AP exam at the end of the year. Everything about the way he taught was optimized around getting results: we only took tests that exactly matched the format on the AP exam, each topic was explained robotically using the same carefully chosen words every time, nothing beyond the test was taught, every foundational topic from prior courses was taught in a whirlwind first two weeks. At the time, I just thought he had a different teaching style, but later I realized that he had rethought teaching AP Calculus from the ground up. We weren't in a course that happened to teach calculus, we were in a carefully crafted machine to produce students that could ace the AP Calculus exam each year.

And he got results. Everyone passed. Every year. Which was unheard of for a public high school in central Kentucky with other AP exam pass rates <50%.

But this story isn't about calculus, he showed me that you didn't have to follow convention. Always be questioning, exploring, testing. Know what game you are playing and focus only on what is actually essential.

An extra note on mentors: Don't get too caught up looking for mentors. Mentors aren't there to make your decisions for you, they show you one way to live your life. Be mentored by everyone and everything. Who do you want to be more like? Who do you want to avoid? Read books, listen to podcasts. Use stories of life as a mirror to learn more about yourself.

There are far fewer "rules" in life than you think. You probably don't have to follow the same schedule, learning path, requirements, etc. that everyone else does. You also don't have to be a rule-breaking renegade; many times you just need to ask with a little persistence.

Everyone has imposter syndrome when they start something new. Stop worrying and just try.

Do things fast. Being fast isn't about rushing or cutting corners, it's about starting today, doing the essential, and skipping the fluff.

Don't just be a reactive "that's good, that's bad" kind of person. Why do you think it's good or bad? How does your measure of good or bad hold up to other situations?

Give compliments.