Brick #7 - Love

Learning to Receive Again

A couple months ago, I did something kind of crazy, I got a puppy.

Her name is Cleo (short for Cleopatra), and she came into our life at six months old, all curls and chaos, joy and sharp baby teeth. I told myself I was getting her for my boys. A fun little companion to teach them responsibility and keep us all moving.

But the truth is… I think she came for me.

I’d be lying if I said there was days where I seriously considered re-homing her. Not because of her, but because of me. The sleepless nights, the accidents, the constant tug on my attention it was a lot. But beneath the surface, something deeper was being tested: my capacity to receive love.

Because when you’ve endured pain, abandonment, or betrayal, love can start to feel unsafe. It can feel like loss waiting to happen.
So we build walls.
We stay busy.
We convince ourselves we’re fine on our own.

But love whether it arrives in the form of a partner, a friend, or a five-pound poodle has a way of slipping through the cracks.

Cleo has softened me. She’s helped me slow down, build new routines, take more walks, talk to my neighbors. She’s created tiny moments of connection I didn’t even know I was missing. She reminds me that love isn’t just something we give it’s something we practice receiving.

And receiving can be terrifying when your nervous system is wired for survival. But this, I’m learning, is where healing really begins.

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Love as Infrastructure

Earlier this year, during a deep meditative journey, I kept receiving the same message:
Love is the foundation. Community is the container.

I grew up surrounded by that truth Italian family dinners, open doors, loud laughter, plates passed around like offerings. The art of gathering wasn’t an event; it was a way of being.

And now, as an adult rebuilding both life and legacy, I see how much that cultural wisdom applies to everything I care about especially in startups, venture capital, and community building.

We talk endlessly about capital, innovation, talent, and scale. But at the center of every thriving ecosystem at the center of every startup that really lasts is love.
Love for the mission.
Love for the people.
Love for the work.

You can’t build an ecosystem without the energy of connection and care. That’s what creates trust. That’s what gives resilience meaning.

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Notes from the Field

At Freeway, we’re practicing this kind of love through the art of community.
Every event, every introduction, every project we touch is an act of opening the heart of the ecosystem.

• When founders gather, they find belonging.

• When investors listen with curiosity, they find alignment.

• When job seekers show up authentically, they find purpose.

This November, we’ll bring that spirit alive at the Tech Talent Summit two days designed to celebrate people, ideas, and the invisible threads that connect them all.

Because love builds what strategy alone never can.
It’s the energy that fuels sustainability, innovation, and true collaboration.

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Reflection Prompt

Where in your life or business have you been resisting love — or connection — because of past pain?

What might open if you practiced receiving instead of controlling?

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Call to Action

If you’ve ever felt disconnected from yourself, your work, or your community this is your invitation to re-enter the conversation.

Join us at the Tech Talent Summit.
Bring your story, your curiosity, your heart.

Let’s build companies, cities, and communities that thrive not just because they’re smart but because they’re kind.

✨ Get Your Ticket | Use code COMMUNITY25 to join the movement.

Because the future of innovation isn’t powered by capital alone, it’s powered by love.