Funny, about the similarities. I moved from Iowa to California, in my mid 20's. Had worked for my Dad's business, for a while. Wrote a new DBMS from scratch to

Funny, about the similarities. I moved from Iowa to California, in my mid 20's. Had worked for my Dad's business, for a while. Wrote a new DBMS from scratch to use in the business. Moved to California would sell it, but ran out of money. So, I got a gig selling computers. Wrote code in my spare time. Then I got a gig selling software. Designed a better version in my spare time. And then my Boss invested in it. And then we failed at selling it. And then got a new gig writing software. And then another and another. Then, at one gig I stumbled upon how to make a tool cheaper and better. That turned into a startup. Became a CTO. Had a little success. And then onto the next thing. My old Boss became a friend. So, he invested in the next thing. In the midst of all that, there were some dry periods. I remember not eating. I remember flunking a job interview after spending my last $100 for a cab ride to get there on time. It felt like: what's the point? Making a product is not the same as solving a puzzle. I'm an entrepreneur. That is very different from being a software engineer. An engineer is usually forward chaining from tools and patterns. An entrepreneur is usually backward chaining from goals. I learned a lot from my Dad. I'm glad I worked for him. And I'm glad I moved away.