Lukas Gentele’s Post

Earlier this month something pretty exciting happened: I became a US citizen 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 When I first set foot in this country over 10 years ago, I had no idea that this would be the place I plan on calling home today. Over the years, I have seen my fair share of the vast variety of cultures, landscapes, and lifestyles across the country: visiting NYC where I arrived during my first ever trip to the US, living in Berkeley and SF, hiking through many of our national parks, getting married at the absolutely magnificent Gulf Coast, and spending many Christmases with my family-in-law in Pensacola. Living in the States has broadened my horizon and I have so many great memories from exploring the country I fell in love with. While it isn’t always easy to be separated from many loved ones back in Europe, I always realize how many new friends and family members I now have here and how much I miss it all either way. I would never trade living here for anything else because this country and its people have allowed me to become who I am. Being here gave me the unique opportunity to start an amazing company that I'm incredibly proud to be a part of and I could not be more excited for what’s to come in the years ahead. Anecdotally, I probably had the most American experience at the oath ceremony: I sat down next to a lady from Georgia who didn’t wait a second to start with some small talk. I was glad we chatted because it made it so much more enjoyable to be in a room with 20+ strangers. We waited 30min for our USCIS official, so there was plenty of time to turn a stranger into someone you’d have a meal with. Ironically, there is a McDonalds located right across the street from the USCIS building, so naturally she cracked the joke that it’d be the most American thing to get a 🍔 burger from McDonalds right after becoming a US citizen. I told her I had other plans: To me, the most American thing would be to go straight back to work. I know - how boring of me but you have to admit: Cultural assimilation completed ✅ Jokes aside - The fact that in the US you're almost expected to connect with a total stranger sitting next to you is one of our most underappreciated superpowers. With all the dividing forces in the world, simply chatting with someone and often turning it into an engaging conversation is something I've never experienced much where I grew up but I absolutely love it and I cannot tell you how many times it made my day. Small talk can be so much more than just “How are you” - that is if you want it to be and if time permits because your USCIS official is running late. So if you’re reading this, do me a favor and make a stranger’s day a bit brighter today. I will try to do the same. Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me over the years. To my wife Kimmy, my family members here and abroad, my friends all over the globe, and last but not least to my co-workers and investors: Thank you all. Having you be a part of my life means the world to me.