One year ago, I left San Francisco, sold and gave away everything I owned, and moved into a 40-liter backpack.

I traveled to 45 cities in 20 countries, three Disneylands, and one bunny island.

I also worked 50 hours a week building and launching a startup.

And my total costs were less than just the rent in San Francisco.

There’s a growing community of “digital nomads” who live a location-independent lifestyle. We’re software developers, designers, writers, journalists, engineers and all sorts of people who share a passion for the work we do and experiencing the world.

I propose that a nomadic lifestyle is a productive way to build a real company. I’m working hard on bootstrapping an ambitious startup,Moo.do. I’m traveling because it’s cheaper, more productive and more inspiring than sitting in one place. Traveling is the most responsible choice for the sake of my company, my finances, and my personal growth.

Related: A Frequent Business Traveler's Rewarding Trip to 'Nowhere'

Three years ago I was preparing to leave my job at Microsoft to move to San Francisco to build a startup. My friend asked me, “but why do you need to be in San Francisco when you can work on a computer from anywhere?” His question made a lot of sense. As I thought about it more, I began to question my assumptions about a “normal life” which don’t make sense in our modern world.