Our Journey to Postcard

My name is Kai and I am about to turn 23. First and foremost, I am an adventure photographer, a competitive chess player, and the champion of my own story. I want to do bold things, build companies, and continually inspire myself and others in my pursuit of greatness. I am building Atlas, a concept that embodies introspection, adventure, and the deep study of our relationship to this world. Through this concept, I am also building Postcards—a social networking platform to connect travelers like me and spark exploration.

According to Google, the word “Atlas” is a book of maps. In a map, there are locations (nodes) and connecting roads (edges), and the “Atlas” helps us understand the relative sizes, distances, and other factors in this network. We can use maps to represent our physical world, relationships, and memories. Throughout life, we consistently create new nodes and connect edges between existing nodes. For example, in Kindergarten we learn our ABC’s and to count to 100, and as we progress to middle school, high school, and college, we create nodes representing each topic. The edges between them allow us to reference a wide array of learned knowledge, experiences, and subconscious thought. Through our mental maps, we make inferences, weigh decisions, and ultimately develop the confidence to take great leaps in our lives.

I made a great leap in my life exactly a year ago. I followed my gut and booked a one-way ticket to Nepal—with zero money for the flight back, zero friends in Nepal, and zero concrete arrival plan. In September 2025, I stepped foot in Kathmandu with my adventure photography gear, no lodging booked, and just a few online messages exchanged with a trekking company and friends. Having freshly graduated from The Wharton School, where I studied finance and computer science, my opportunity cost was high: I was giving up a traditional career in finance, consulting, or tech. But I knew that Nepal offered a starkly different map in my Atlas of life—a whole set of untapped nodes and edges that none of my American peers could imagine.

In Nepal, I explored, became close friends with Tintin (Nepal’s first Olympic sport climber) and Power (adventure photographer), and developed many business connections. I turned my adventure photography dreams into reality: a summit attempt on Mera Peak (6,476m) and a successful documentary covering Nepal’s cliffside mad honey harvesting practice. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have my solo travel adventures turn out the way they did. I am beyond blessed, and I want to help others discover opportunities for adventure too.

Postcards is my gift to other solo travelers and adventurers. I want to pay it forward—to encourage the next person to document their journey and gain inspiration from previous travelers. Postcards’ key features center around its map engine, which aggregates a user’s past travels, geo-data, and notable photos to display an expansive network of life experiences. Users can follow others, compare previous travel experiences and photos, and explore other parts of the world through user-submitted content.

A challenge I constantly face is seeing a never-ending feed of mountaineering photos on Instagram—without ever knowing the exact location where those photos were taken. To me, almost every mountain looks the same, aside from a select few. I don’t want users to feel oversaturated with one kind of photo or visual content. Instead, I want Postcards to display the world as it is, encourage users to explore online, follow their friends’ journeys, connect with others, and embark on their own adventures.

Life is a vast ocean of unexplored nodes, locations, and experiences. Embark on your adventure to self-discovery. Postcards by Atlas is here for you.