It’s rare for me to be at a loss for words. But this one cuts deep.

Julien Adler, my friend, my business partner, my confidant, is gone.

He died in his sleep the night of October 27th, the morning of the 28th, the very same day my grandfather passed twenty-two years earlier.

Some people leave footprints on your heart so deep, they become part of your DNA.

Julien was one of those rare souls. A mentor. A friend. A co-founder. One of the three greatest teachers of my life.

He helped me build not just companies, but a better version of myself.

When I met him, I was fiery, driven, and, by my own admission, a bit of an asshole. He was the first business coach I ever hired, and with humor, brilliance, and fierce compassion, he became the mirror I didn’t know I needed. He stopped me from sending those all-caps emails when I was frustrated. He held me accountable to becoming the woman I said I wanted to be.

Julien didn’t just coach me on business; he coached me on being human.

He introduced me to the tools that shaped my spiritual path, EFT tapping, Ho’oponopono prayer, shamanic principles, and through him, I began to soften, to listen, to lead differently.

When I decided to build my second company, OptiMatch, I told him, “I’ll never build another company without you.”

And so we did.

It was Julien who birthed the idea that became OptiMatch. What began as intuition and a crazy dream, to use technology to help humanity connect more deeply, became, through his brilliance, a scalable algorithm. With our other original co-founder, Moon Cho, he transformed what was in my head into a mathematical formula that could predict with stunning accuracy who you’re likely to fall in love with, do business with, or befriend.

That was Julien: a bridge between intuition and logic, between the mystical and the measurable.

We didn’t just build companies together; we lived life together.

We laughed until our stomachs hurt. We cried in each other’s arms. We fought, made up, dreamed big, got drunk, and always came back to love and respect.

Just a few short months ago, I stood beside Julien in Haines, Alaska, as he married the love of his life, his partner of twenty years.

The crystalline lake behind them shimmered under the sun, framed by dark, majestic mountains. I sang a song for him and his bride that night, surrounded by friends and family, watching him glow with joy.

I remember thinking, this is what it looks like when someone’s dreams come true.

I didn’t know then that it would be the last time I’d hug him.

A few months later came the call no one ever wants to receive:

“Julien’s gone.”

His wife told me it had been the best day of his life. Everything was aligning, our company, his purpose, his joy. He died fulfilled, excited, and proud of what we were building together.

Julien’s passing cracked something open in me, not just sorrow, but a deep reverence for the gift of those 14 years I got to walk beside him as a mentor, a brother, a co-creator, and a friend.

To Julien, Joules, thank you.

For seeing me before I could see myself.

For shaping my life with your wisdom, your wit, your sharp mind, and your massive heart.

For every pause you taught me to take, every spiritual tool you shared, every idea you breathed life into.

You will always live inside the architecture of everything I build.

Your voice will echo in my mind when I need guidance.

Your heart will be felt in every connection OptiMatch helps to create.

And your light, oh, Julien, your light, will never go out.

Rest easy, my dear friend.

You are loved. You are remembered.

And your footprint is forever etched on my soul.

This fund is to support his wife, Lisa Ann.