It took me a while to realize that I was just burning mad with "the system". I did lousy in school, always fighting the dreadful feeling of inadequacy. Memorizing history timelines and algebra equations just didn't compliment my brain. What's easiest to test isn't always the best to learn you know.
I developed sense of fight in me over those many long school years. It's the same feeling I have now. Truly, I believe I can fix the system, and while it will still be a "system", no doubt it will be much improved.
Fast forward to college years. I discovered I wasn't an idiot. Rather than memorizing loads of ...crap, I explored logic, concepts, stories, and quickly gained straight A's, a class president position (ok, the school was tiny), and a degree decoration which I can't recall.
So, I took that seed of determination, went through a job or four, and landed up with my pops. We started Sermonspice.com together. It grew into a multi-million dollar company in under three years. I built and managed all departments at some point, besides finances, which still reminds me too much of school. Luckily, there are plenty of people that excelled in adding numbers in school that now work for me.
It was a strain on the family with me at the business. I was...opinionated. I had no choice but to leave a very comfortable living, and strike out on my own. Also, I knew the recession was coming. Peter Schiff saved me $100k on buying a house, and guided me in gaining cash by shorting the DOW during the big fall. Oh, lastly, my third child was due in the coming months.
So, that's the genesis of Bixly. It didn't work for the first 6 months really. It wasn't until I threw my arms up, went very transparent and focused on one small market that things really turned around. Since then we have been black, but for a couple months at the beginning. And after a couple years, I regained have my comfortable salary.
I find myself very philosophical right now. The success of Bixly has very little to do with how many hours I work, since there are 50 people that can do the work for me. Rather, it's about how smart my decisions are, and how well I treat the team so they remain inspired. You will find some of my best thoughts on this blog/bliki. I haven't opened up feedback because I don't think it's the best for BrainBreach at this time. Sounds like a real bull to manage also.
Lastly, if you are interested in joining the momentum we are creating, please do contact me. I believe getting the right folks on board is key as we turn Bixly into, hopefully, a $3m/year company in 2012.
