Nick Karnel Williams

It’s taken some time to write back, and there’s a reason for that. I didn’t want AI to take over the way I write. I needed this to be as transparent as possible, even with its assistance. My wife is like a grammar Nazi when it comes to writing, but I’ve made real strides to get better.

As I reflect on the year, on 2025, I’m reminded of the funerals that took place and the deaths that occurred. I remember seeing people place a MATAI watch on the hand of someone who had passed. It’s crazy to think about, but it shows how much this represents.

That thought stayed with me when I went to church today and saw Brother Mitch wearing his watch, one his daughter Anne-Marie bought him. He was so proud. He’s an old-school guy, and Anne said he never wore a watch before this. That hit me. This is deeper than just a brand and deeper than how we created it. It’s a true testament to the power of God.

Watching last year unfold, I felt completely compressed financially. In all honesty, we couldn’t make much money last year. We probably lost close to $300K by not running marketing. But that was because I came back to God, and I felt like I had to grow all over again, for the better of the company and for myself.

I felt like God was stripping the want for money away from me. I had to learn how to go without. There were times I said to my wife, “Babe, I don’t know how we’re going to do it this month.” That desire, that flesh-eating need to make money and spend it, but spend it on what? Rubbish things that don’t actually satisfy you.

Although I did buy a new couch this summer, because I sat on the old one most of last year asking God what I should be doing.

My focus for 2025 was to build out the Higher Learning program, and at one point I was ready to pull it. In complete honesty, a mother donated money to the program with the intention that it was for children, then later made it out like it was a loan. I won’t go too far into it, but my older brother was caught up in that mess too. There’s no lying here, just transparency.

I wanted to pull the Higher Learning program because it felt internally broken. It was either that, or God would remove them from my internal trust structure. God chose to remove both of them. With that came collateral. Parents pulled their kids without even saying anything.

But by the end of the year, something unexpected happened. The program grew. We added a second program in Penrith. The end-of-year showcase was incredible. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was strong in our young people.

God showed me what I should be doing, and Higher Learning is part of it. That’s why, in about a month, we officially launch the HLRN brand to the world. Too many people make excuses about why they can’t do something because government support or funding doesn’t come through. I’m not making excuses. I’m building from scratch. I’m building a brand with the hope that one day it funds itself, the same way something simple and community-driven like the Girl Scouts does.

The greater responsibility now is to steward what’s coming. To understand that people are not here to be taken advantage of. Being on the ground, in community, was the biggest win for me last year. There is no throne, just real and genuine people.

That’s all I can give for now.

Happy New Year, everyone.
Thank you for reading if you did.
Love you.