High-Stakes Entrepreneurship: A personal memoir from the dawn of mainframe computers to the future of autonomous drones
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Prologue: Born to BuildI believe that true entrepreneurs are born, not made. While business schools can teach mechanics and management, they cannot manufacture the inherent drive required to build a business from the ground up. In my family, that drive seems to run directly through our bloodline: my grandfather was an entrepreneur, my father was not, I am, and my son is now an accomplished entrepreneur as well.From the very beginning, I knew I wasn't cut out to follow someone else's playbook or work under a traditional corporate thumb. But like many natural entrepreneurs starting out, I was bright, restless, and completely unfocused. I was incredibly fortunate to have a high school teacher who saw past my lack of enthusiasm for the standard curriculum. Out of the entire student body, she recognized a spark in me that I hadn't yet discovered myself.By a stroke of brilliant luck, she offered me an opportunity during my senior year to enroll in a new data processing program at a regional career school. The moment I laid eyes on my first large-scale mainframe computer, I was hooked. It was instant love, and it launched me into a lifelong career in the technology industry.This booklet is a summary of that journey—from that pivotal first spark to my eventual retirement at 77 years old. People often ask why I waited so long to step away. The answer is simple: for 58 years, I was having fun, making money, and doing it entirely on my own terms.The story truly begins when my teacher approached me with a deceptively simple question: "What do you plan on doing when you're done with high school?" I didn't have an answer at the time, but that single question completely altered the trajectory of my life.Inside, you will also find my recollections of serving in the U.S. Army and my time in Vietnam. These experiences are a core part of the story because they illustrate a fundamental entrepreneurial truth: I didn't wait for things to happen; I made them happen. The military tested me, changed me, and helped forge the person I became.To quote Antonio Gracias: “I learned being a great Entrepreneur… what it means is that your care about the people that work for you and your impact of the country. Small business is the backbone of our country!”Deep down, I have always lived by the words of a plaque I once saw hanging in a corporate conference room: “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”Personally, I prefer to lead. Read more
