About

Hello! I'm Janel, an operator, creator, maker & community builder based in Barcelona, Spain.

I love to learn, curate, write and build things.

I created this site to share my thoughts on personal growth, learning and building, as well as the unique experiences I've had through life. I've always been a tinkerer and love finding new ways to do things, so I'll also share about the cool tools that I find and how they make my life better.

I’m an “on the bright side” kind of person. I choose to see the positive in all situations and everyone I meet. The things that are the most important to me in life are relationships and experiences.

What I'm Working On

• I am a founder of a consultancy called Traktion Labs where I help companies work smarter, faster, and drive higher profitability through process optimization and workflow automation.
• I write BrainPint, a newsletter for the curious. Every Wednesday, I send out a medley of interesting reads, tools and learning resources to more than 6,000 people.
• I created Newsletter OS, a comprehensive Notion dashboard that helps newsletter creators curate, write & grow their newsletters.
• I created Podcast OS with Josh Kaplan, another Notion resource that helps podcasters pitch, produce and earn from their podcasts.
• I used to be the Head of Product Development at Coho. I built infrastructure using no-code together with my team that keeps the entire company running. Before that, I was the Program Manager at On Deck's No-Code Fellowship.

What Drives Me?

• Curiosity: A natural explorer, I often scurry down rabbit holes while following my curiosity. I seek out new experiences and alternative ways of seeing or doing things. New ideas, people, concepts and places excite me.
• Love Of Learning: Passionate about building knowledge and expertise in multiple, sometimes seemingly disconnected fields. I learn best through doing, not reading manuals, so I take a hands-on approach to learning.
• Self-Improvement: I want to become a better version of myself every day.
• Long-Term Games with Long-Term People: I'm here for the long run. I see life as a positive-sum game where there can be multiple winners, and I want to intentionally walk through that journey with people I hold close.
• Grit: I have the resilience and courage to keep pushing on when things get tough. I hold up very well in adverse situations.

Things I'm Interested In

• Self-development and learning
• Mental models for better thinking
• Optimizing workflows
• Building with no-code
• Growth marketing
• Reading, writing and newsletters
• Stock investing (especially in SaaS companies)
• Consumer psychology

What Else Makes Me Happy?

• Learning from different cultures - I've lived in 6 countries and travelled to 51
• Connecting with new people & helping others grow
• Enjoying all kinds of food
• Travel hacking (I have a million airline miles, but also backpack a lot)
• Latin dance, especially bachata and salsa
• Trivia & board games
• Beer

Get In Touch

• Twitter -  You can tweet me @JanelSGM or send me a message via the DMs
• Email - You can reach me at janel {at} brainpint {doooot} com. I read all emails & will reply!