Episode 17: The Digital Nomad’s View From Southeast Asia with David Abraham
David Abraham is an entrepreneur, author, and leading expert on technology resources to power the green generation. He has been published numerous times in the NYTimes, LA Times, and Wall St. Journal Asia. Most recently, David co-founded Outpost, a next generation travel and hospitality brand whose mission is to help remote professionals and digital nomads to join the remote revolution and design their best lives. Outpost has a number of co-living and co-working spaces in SE Asia with the earliest locations in Bali. David’s prior work spanned many countries including the US, Lithuania, Japan, China and now Indonesia. He has worked both in the public and private sector and has spoken before Congress on the subject of rare earth materials.
I was extremely excited by the rare opportunity to speak to someone who had built unique knowledge at the intersection of so many relevant and newsworthy subjects.
The conversation started with an overview of Outpost and we explored the future of work, the pros and cons of being a digital nomad, and building a community around shared values. Given that Outpost is a co-living / co-working space, we of course had to discuss the recent WeWork drama and David brought a great perspective on the issues that led to the company’s downfall.
Finally, we discussed David’s past research into rare earth metals, the materials that we use to manufacture the high tech chips that go into all of our smart phones. Rare earth metals are at the center of US-China trade talks and Indonesia, where David now resides, sits at the intersection of Eastern and western economic policies. We were able to explore the rising tension between the US and China and what it means for all of us.
We covered a lot of ground on a number of important topics. I hope you enjoy and learn something new just as I did.
Important Show Links:
David’s Startup Grind Interview in 2017
David’s Book – The Elements of Power and Related Media
What Happened at WeWork – The New Yorker
Quick Guide to US-China Trade War
