“C.R.E.A.M.” by the Wu-Tang Clan is a 1994 hip-hop classic that stands for Cash Rules Everything Around Me. The song captures the harsh realities of growing up in poverty, where the constant need for money pushes people toward crime, drug dealing, and survival, often trapping them in a relentless cycle. Despite its title, C.R.E.A.M. isn’t a celebration of money — it’s a gritty, frustrated reflection on desperation and the pursuit of cash simply to make it through.
Growing Up
While I thankfully cannot relate to involvement in crime or drug dealing, I do remember moments from my childhood when my family faced real financial hardship. As a single parent, my mom did everything she could to support me and my siblings and create stability. Even so, there were periods when we lived in poor neighbourhoods and relied on government support — housing, food, and financial assistance.
In that sense, growing up, cash attempted to rule everything around me. But through the blessings of God, my family, and close friends, it never ruled my life completely.
What it did give me, though, was a front-row seat to Entrepreneurship 101.
Growing up with limited resources forced constant problem-solving. Time, money, and manpower were scarce, and making them stretch wasn’t optional — it was survival. Only years later did I realise I had been learning one of the most valuable entrepreneurial lessons of all.
At the time, I was focused on formal education in London — first college, then a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. I value that education deeply. I just wish I had understood earlier the value of the school of hard knocks I was already attending.
My First Jobs
In September 2009, after completing my studies in London, I realised I had no desire to work for a large consulting firm — the path many of my peers followed. Instead, I felt drawn to small businesses and start-ups. I wanted to understand what it really meant to build, scale, and survive.
Around the same time, my mom was starting an accounting firm on my home island of St. Eustatius — part of the Caribbean Netherlands, along with Bonaire and Saba. It felt like my future was waiting for me there.
Working with my mom became Entrepreneurship 102.
Between 2009 and 2016, I helped support the launch of Papaya Solutions (an accounting firm), Papaya Restaurant, and eventually Papaya Inn, a hotel she still runs today. Yes — papaya is her favourite fruit. More importantly, she’s a multi-talented serial entrepreneur with deep experience in hospitality.
What stood out to me during those years was how critical cashflow was to survival. My work focused heavily on managing finances — ensuring enough cash was available to pay staff, vendors, taxes, and other obligations. Profit mattered, but cashflow was everything.
Once again, cash ruled everything around me.
Starting My Firm
Fast forward to June 2018 — the month I incorporated my first company, TactML. By then, my mom had closed Papaya Solutions, and I had the opportunity to take on many of its clients.
About a year and a half into building TactML, the Covid-19 pandemic hit — and once again, I was reminded that cash rules everything around me.
Many of our clients faced severe cash shortages as social-distancing measures shut down restaurants, hotels, construction projects, and other revenue-generating activities. During this period, our firm spent countless hours helping clients manage cashflow and apply for Covid-19 financial relief.
Since then, small and medium-sized enterprises across the Caribbean Netherlands — and beyond — have continued to face intense cashflow pressure. Rising supplier and labour costs, seasonal downturns, and unexpected shocks such as hurricanes or pandemics mean that many businesses are operating on thin margins, if not facing closure altogether.
Often, these businesses don’t need long-term financing — they need short-term working capital. Yet access to overdrafts, loans, or alternative financing like invoice factoring remains limited. I’ve experienced this firsthand while applying for financing for TactML at both local and EU levels.
Like many entrepreneurs, I’ve had to pull up my bootstraps — and pray — relying on support from trusted partners, friends, and family. Just as in my childhood, I learned that when cash seems to rule everything around me, I can lean on God and my network — and I’ve learned to do the same for them.
The ABLE Era
Which brings me to the present.
Over the past two years at TactML, we’ve been developing ABLE — an AI accounting co-pilot that categorises our clients’ bank transactions daily in the Caribbean Netherlands using our proprietary AL (AutoLabels) series of models.
ABLE gives clients real-time visibility into their cashflow and spending by automatically importing bank transactions via Tactly, an open-banking solution developed by our sister company. From February 2026, we’ll begin introducing ABLE to select clients and integrating it into the daily workflow of our junior accountants.
This initiative reflects our broader ambition to operate as a full-stack AI accounting firm — powered by intelligence, but always guided by tact. Our goal is to help clients navigate financial uncertainty more confidently so they can grow, support their employees, serve customers, and strengthen the communities they operate in.
Conclusion
So yes — still, cash rules everything around me. At times, the pressure and frustration that come with this reality make me want to literally S.C.R.E.A.M.
But through every stage of my journey, I’ve learned that while cash may shape external circumstances, it does not ultimately rule me — or anyone else. Through faith in God and the support of family, colleagues, and friends, these experiences have made me more resilient, resourceful, and deeply empathetic to the challenges faced by entrepreneurs.
Those lessons now guide the decisions my colleagues and I make as we build ABLE, our AL series of models, and what comes next. My hope in sharing this story is that it encourages you on your own journey — especially in moments when it feels like cash is trying to rule everything around you.
