Same here, pretty horrible childhood by all accounts. Aged 20 I decided I was no longer going to let my life path be dictated by anybody else. For better or wo

Same here, pretty horrible childhood by all accounts. Aged 20 I decided I was no longer going to let my life path be dictated by anybody else. For better or worse if it all went sideways I would need full control. Starting a business, being self employed and carving my destiny was the solution to that problem - and I forced it to happen when the odds were not great. No University degree, no network of wealthy or experienced business minded friends, no business acumen, nothing...just a shed in a garden to work from, a friend who could code much better than I could and the desire to be something other than what I was. There was a madness within me that I channeled in to working my fucking brains out. I networked my arse off, told everybody I met we could solve their software problems - and the rest is history. Learning through making mistakes is inefficient and foolhardy but as far as my monkey brain was concerned there was no alternative. Going back to the kid that I was before I was 20 was a fate worse than death.