The Soulmate Prophecy

In late 2015 while I was living in Cincinnati, I was introduced to a visiting entrepreneur from London named Paris. Paris was kind, smart, generous, and such a joy to be around. Some of my friends had told me that she had the gift of prophecy because she said some things about their lives that nobody should have known, and made statements that eventually came true. Paris never prophesied directly to me so I didn’t really think much of her gift.

In February 2016, a group of us #StartupCincy founders decided to take a trip to Miami for the Power Moves tech conference. We scheduled a happy hour a week before the trip to compare plans. As I was sitting in the restaurant waiting for the others to show up, Paris rushes into the room clearly excited about something. She grabs me and declares boldly “Natasia! You will meet your soulmate next week in Miami.” I immediately think about who I know from Miami. I don’t actually know anyone from Miami so my mind wanders to who I associate with Miami, and the rappers Trick Daddy and Pitbull come to mind. I shudder, and tell her “no thank you. I do not want to meet anyone from Miami.” She replies “he’s not from Miami. You will just meet him in Miami.” Incredulously, I ask her “where in Miami?” She patiently replies “Natasia, where else? The tech conference!” At this point, I'm pretty skeptical about the entire thing which my face clearly doesn’t try to hide. Paris sits down and motions me to lean in. I happened to have a notebook in front of me so I started taking notes. From our conversation, I gather that Paris believes that:
1. I will have a connection to this person’s business that could be very helpful for him.

2. He is a person of faith or believes in God

3. He is an entrepreneur with a company that is doing okay now but I will help him build a billion dollar business. In a few years, his company will be known world wide.

The next week I get to Miami later than everyone else did. I had client projects due so I didn’t arrive until late in the week. The first tech event I was able to attend was a happy hour/networking event. As I walk in, I see Paris. She comes over and says hi, and indicates that she has met someone I should meet. I was definitely very intrigued by this point because it’s one thing to say “You’ll meet him in Miami.” I don’t think I believed I was actually going to meet my “soulmate” but I was excited at the prospect of meeting someone that Paris thought was a good fit for me. Paris had great taste and I felt like she would know what I like!

I end up staying in my hotel room the next morning to finish up some work. When I finally make it down to the conference events, it was almost lunchtime and the pitch competitions were already underway. I slide into the last row and sit next to my friend Candice Brackeen. Ben Young of Sworkit was pitching. His business is compelling, and his traction is impressive so I go down a rabbit hole Googling Ben’s business and analyzing his competitors. By the time I’m paying attention again, there was a guy on staged with a T-Shirt that read “Squire” across the front and he seemed to be stumbling through his pitch. I, a somewhat pitch professional by this point, made mental notes on what he could do to improve and was a bit turned off by the guy’s arrogance. I then realized that this was the company my cofounders had been talking about during CES.  It was a brilliant business, for sure, but something about the guy was super annoying.

The pitch competition ends and they announced that lunch would be served right after. As I get up to head over for lunch, Candice stops the guy from Squire as he’s walking past our row. He introduces himself as Dave. Candice was the unofficial Startup Cincy ambassador and I can hear her pitch Cincinnati to Dave. I throw in my two cents on how Cincinnati has been super helpful to my company Wyzerr, and Dave replies “Oh you’re Wyzerr’s CEO. I’ve heard about you. I met your cofounders in Vegas.” We began talking about CES (which was only a month ago) at which point Candice leaves to woo some other founders to Startup Cincy. Dave and I walk over together to lunch. He sees someone he knows and walks over to say hi. I spot Paris walking towards me excitedly. “You met him! You met the guy I wanted you to meet.” Before I could get any words out to explain that this guy Dave was really annoying, Dave comes back to me and a friend of Paris walks over too. The tables were filling up quickly so we decided to grab a table together before nothing was left. Lunch is super awkward for me as I’m thinking about what Paris said and how it doesn’t match up with who I was expecting. In the short time that I was interacting with Dave, I decided that he was arrogant, overly confident, and very judgmental. We exchange business cards but I had no desire to talk to him beyond that lunch.

A Connection for Dave

Later that night, my cofounders decided they wanted to go out for our last night in Miami. While we’re out, my cofounders tell me they invited a few friends to meet up with us. One of those friends was Dave, and within 10 minutes of his arrival, he turns to me and says “Your cofounders tell me your first angel investor was the guy that owns Sports Clips. Do you think you can make an introduction?” I had no idea who he was talking about but then realized he was talking about Clete Brewer. Clete was the former President and co-owner of Sport Clips, Inc., one of the largest barber chains in the United States. Under his leadership Sport Clips, Inc. grew from 42 franchised stores to more than 675 stores nationwide. He was actually my first angel investor in my first startup, Sooligan. As I promised Dave I would make the introduction, I remembered the signs that Paris told me would be the markers of my soulmate. “You will have a connection to his business that could be very helpful for him” was the first sign, and this seemed like it lined up. I was a little apprehensive that he was only talking to me for my connections but in good faith I made the introduction between Clete and Dave. Their conversation didn’t pan out to anything so I decided it was just sheer coincidence, and not actually part of Paris’ prophecy. Regardless, Dave and I began dating soon after that.

The Second Part of the Prophecy

Almost a full year and a half later, in June 2017, I was invited by Crossroads Church in Cincinnati to speak during their Sunday service as part of their Spark Series (you can watch the series here. My talk starts at about 19:40). I invited Dave to attend my talk, which would take place in the actual church sanctuary. He made a point to tell me that he isn’t into church. This was the first time we actually talked about religion and our faith. I was relieved to hear he identified as Christian but unfortunately didn’t seem to be a practicing one. This conversation also revealed that this would be the first time Dave attended a church in a long time. Paris’ second sign that he is a person of faith but he has not been to church in a long time seemed to be also true. After my talk at the church, Dave tells me that he really enjoyed the service and looked up the church. He remarked that if he lived in Cincinnati, he would actually attend, and he could see why I attended. This was progress! However, it would be another year before Dave willingly came to another church service.

A year later in late July 2018, Dave and I attend a friend’s wedding in DC. Before we fly back to NYC, we decide to attend Sunday service at RC, my home church. During the service, my Pastor randomly called me up to the front. He said he sensed I needed prayer over my life for something that was to come. I reluctantly went to the altar. I didn’t know what Dave would think of it since he’s not a regular church attendee and might think this was some kind of gimmick. However, I wasn’t going to turn down a prayer, especially if my Pastor felt like I needed it at the moment.

The very next day after that church service, I found out I was pregnant. Dave’s reaction to the pregnancy was not great. He felt he was not ready to be a dad. In hindsight, I think part of it was because his company wasn’t doing very well at the time. They were having trouble raising more capital. They were trying to raise their Series A, and getting a lot of NO’s. Becoming a dad while dealing with the possibility of shutting down your company, not having a job, and not being able to provide for your family was obviously very stressful. Fortunately, Dave closes his Series A right around the time Jax was born.

Not long after we have Jax, I develop a very serious case of postpartum depression. It started off with really unhappy thoughts and feelings towards both Dave and Jax. Over time, it progressed to resentment and outright hatred. This caused all kinds of issues in our relationship. Dave tried very hard to make our little family work for Jax’s sake. He endured my constant tirades, rants, and crazy outbursts. He took care of all of our bills and living expenses. Even though I was living with him, he knew I didn’t have money of my own so he gave me a monthly stipend to allow me to buy things for myself and Jax. One day while I was out driving, a deep sadness came over me and I felt that the best solution was to drive off of the San Pedro bridge and end my life. I drove on to the 710 freeway which would eventually lead to the San Pedro bridge. By the grace of God, I snapped out of the dark haze right before the freeway ended. I made it home safely and began therapy. I was officially diagnosed with postpartum depression and suicidal ideation. Throughout my therapy, I came to the realization that I needed to change my situation completely. I was depressed because I felt like a failure. I was dependent on a man for my entire livelihood and couldn’t provide for my son myself. I was watching Dave live out his dreams, while my own dreams wasted away. I resented him because I was jealous of him. He seemingly got to be a dad and grow his company successfully while I became a mother and had to let my company go. I decided to leave Dave for good and move to San Francisco. Any thoughts of Dave being my soulmate permanently disappeared. I haven’t thought about Paris’ prophecy in a long time. Truthfully, our relationship had scarred me so much that I try to avoid anything to do with Dave besides what’s minimally required to coparent our son. I blocked him on all of my social media. I make a point to quickly X out of whatever app I’m on if anything pops up in my newsfeed about Dave, or his company, Squire. The trauma from the relationship was real, and I couldn’t afford to let depression seep back in.

A Prophecy Comes Full Circle

Over the last few years Dave’s company, Squire, continued to grow and prosper. In 2022, Forbes named Squire as one of the next Billion Dollar startups. I actually had no idea how well Squire was doing because I avoid news about Dave like the plague. He had mentioned in passing a few times that his company was thriving and Forbes was covering it for a feature on unicorns, but I didn’t make the connection that this meant he had achieved the coveted Billion dollar startup status.

After the Forbes article was published, a ton of people started sending me links to articles about Squire to congratulate Dave. I decided to read one of the articles, albeit a bit apprehensively as I expected his success to be a trigger for my depression since it was the cause of it before. I was surprised by how happy I was for Dave. I remember when Squire was a 5 person team in a small WeWork office, and I used to have to cover our dates because Dave couldn’t afford to. They’ve come a long way and built an amazing business in the process. I was very proud of Dave, which felt like a major milestone for me. I realized in that moment that I was completely healed of all of the wounds from our past. I am no longer struggling financially, I am no longer dependent on anyone, I can care for and provide for my son, and I am walking in my purpose everyday. I have no reason to be jealous of Dave. His success is directly tied to our son’s success. Even if I wasn’t doing what I am now, I firmly believe God has a plan for my life and He directs my steps. Regardless of what anyone else around me is doing or prospering in, I am thriving in my own way. I have peace, love, joy, and purpose in my life.

During one of my Bible study meetings recently, I bring up my friend Paris, and was instantly reminded of her prophecy from years ago. I haven’t thought about her soulmate prophecy in a long time, and not sure if I really believe in soulmates anymore. However, I believe Dave entered my life for a reason. If by soulmates, Paris meant that Dave and I would be tied together forever because of our amazing son, she was completely right.