ABOUT ME

Back when I was in elementary school, when I was maybe eight or nine, I was lucky enough to have my dad pick me up every day. He’d pull up in the family car, our Saab sedan, and I would throw my backpack into the trunk before jumping into the front passenger seat. After the usual “How was your day?” questions were answered, we’d launch into a conversation about our most recent product or business idea.

We’d start off with a “pain point,” a problem that almost everyone experiences. How could we solve it? It only took a few minutes for us to light up, to start firing off idea after idea with no constraints. We’d invent small handheld products, something that would improve people’s lives. We once came up with a new product to help people find their lost socks. Sometimes we designed entire cities, from the structures to the politics to the rules and laws. We looked through all obstacles, never seeing them as challenges, only seeing the fun in solving the puzzle. As we pitched ideas, layered on additional features, or perfected some hypothetical model, we’d speak more quickly and with growing enthusiasm. We constantly asked the question, “What if?” Nothing was impossible.

My dad really came to life through these conversations, and his enthusiasm sparked the passion in me. There was no real purpose in our conversations, but it was a way to detach from reality, from our daily routines, and go to a different place where our ideas could shine. He worked in the mortgage business, not really a “fun” job, and I went to a small prep school where structure was prioritized over authentic imagination, so it was on these drives home that we really got to shine as creative thinkers.

During these conversations, my dad talked to me like an adult and made me feel that I was not just a child in elementary school, but that I was someone with ideas worth hearing. Both my parents gave me opportunities to think creatively and with real passion. It’s no surprise I developed an entrepreneurial spirit. I got my first real job at 15, launched an LLC at 16, became a licensed realtor at 18, and I’ve kept creating and building ever since. From losing everything on some ideas to the exhilarating wins on others, it has all turned out to be a great education through experience.

I still get that same feeling when I start a new idea today, and it rarely stays in the idea phase; I run with it, take risks, and create something. I call it a “path” rather than an idea because I chase it down and do it. In my current work, I’ve figured out a way to use my creativity and passion to provide a service that improves realtors’ lives, and, in the process, I get to be my authentic self.