About Me
Where I Come From
I grew up in Northeast Ohio and didn’t always follow the straightest path. But a few key people helped shape who I am:
My mom – A single parent raising me, my brother John, and my sister Julie. Incredibly hard-working and always in our corner. She pushed me to do better, supported me through tough times, and taught me — big time — the value of hard work.
My dad – Watching him and my mom run printing businesses gave me an early window into entrepreneurship. He taught me how printing presses worked and even showed me manual typesetting on a light board — early exposure to mechanical systems and layout principles that would come in handy later.
My Uncle Tom – Introduced me to computers when I was a teenager, opening the door to a whole new world of possibilities. To this day, I’m impressed by his wealth of knowledge and his ability to build and fix just about anything. He’s been a constant example of what it means to be both curious and capable.
My vocational drafting teacher – Taught me how to make clear, correct, well-formatted drawings as part of my vocational school program. We worked mostly on the board, since CAD was still relatively new at the time — and honestly, being trained that way was a huge benefit when I eventually transitioned to CAD. That class also gave me a solid foundation in basic manufacturing and industrial processes — things I’d lean on constantly later in my career.
Bob Eder – More than a boss — he became a mentor. Bob taught me how to think like an engineer, how to run a business with integrity and financial responsibility, how to truly understand what customers need, and how to treat and lead employees the right way. A lot of who I am professionally was forged through the years I spent learning from him.
I didn’t go to college. I went to vocational school, got my hands dirty, and never stopped learning by doing. I’ve always had a knack for figuring things out — like rebuilding a go-kart as a kid (which promptly caught fire with me in it), dismantling anything around the house just to see if I could put it back together, and even cracking the code on free satellite TV. Purely for educational purposes, of course.
