I didn't finish an Electrical Engineering program, choosing instead to build my career through what amounts to a traditional apprenticeship model. I worked my way up through increasingly complex roles, learning from experienced professionals, and ultimately went solo. This path gave me something formal education often doesn't, the ability to teach myself complex technical subjects, with real world feedback acting as the ultimate test.
(1991-1994) Highlighters and Depositions
My career started at an international corporate law firm, where I began as a clerk ordering supplies and keeping the supply rooms on each of the floors stocked with legal pads, a colorful assortment of pens and post-it notes, and endless reams of printer and copier paper. Later I moved into helping the IT department with computer maintenance and the AV department with video editing. For nearly a year I reviewed highlighted deposition testimony and edit video footage, collaborating with a local production company to create indexed Laser Disc presentations, which was state of the art technology at the time.
Those years allowed me to develop the discipline and interpersonal skills that became essential throughout my working life. But after nearly three years in a corporate environment, I was ready for something completely different.
(1994) Self Reliance
At the Houston Public Library, I discovered the Directory of Intentional Communities. After a few months of correspondence, I sold my car, bought some camping gear, and planned a summer road trip with two adventurous friends.
We rented the largest Oldsmobile we could find and set out for Colorado. For two weeks we hiked and camped at Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, the Tetons, and the Grand Canyon. Then my friends returned to Houston after dropping me off at the Reevis Mountain School of Self Reliance, my new home.
For the next 5 months I lived without phones, electricity (except minimal solar), or modern distractions. I watered fruit and nut trees, weeded an acre of organic vegetables, picked grapes, cleaned up after chickens, and learned to make surprisingly good carob brownies. It took a while to adjust to that kind of life, but at the end it was hard to leave.
On the long drive back to civilization, I debated my next move: accept an invitation to Harbin Hot Springs' work exchange program, or return to Texas as an AV technician. By the time they dropped me at the Greyhound station in Apache Junction, I had made my decision.
(1995-1996) Hospitality
The behind-the-scenes world of hotels and conference centers was thoroughly enjoyable. As an AV technician, I set up microphones and mixers, video and slide projectors, flip charts and whiteboards, but what interested me most were the events themselves.
I learned that pharmaceutical companies and MLM franchises use remarkably similar techniques to motivate their sales people. And, I also saw firsthand the planning and coordination required to execute even a modestly sized event. During that time I was also introduced to Windows 95, as presenters constantly needed help formatting documents and connecting computers to video projectors.
The convention center experience was relatively uneventful, but it was valuable preparation for what came next.
(1996-2001) Apprenticeship
After a year in hotel AV work, I found an entry-level position at a home theater company ten minutes from where I lived, and took a pay cut to learn the industry.
For the first few months I worked as manual labor, then moved into the warehouse managing inventory and scheduling. Over the next five years, I went on to set up and manage the internal computer network, became certified in Panasonic PBX systems, Lutron Lighting systems, and Crestron automation systems, and became the resident ISF certified Sony CRT projector calibrator.
Essentially I did everything required to run a 30-person electronics installation company: programming, project management, system design, proposals, and sales. I even participated in the process of selecting and implementing the CRM and ERP system. This period amounted to what would traditionally be called an apprenticeship, learning complex systems by working directly with experienced professionals, solving real world problems.
Eventually an opportunity emerged to partner with someone who ran a two-man company with access to funding but limited experience managing large high-end projects. It was a hard decision, but the opportunity to be a partner in a new venture was too good to pass up.
(2001-2003) Three Amigos and Two Trucks
We were three ambitious partners in our late twenties, and despite our youth, we achieved a significant amount in a short period of time. We engaged an attorney, set up a new company, secured a $50k line of credit, bought a second service van, and signed a three-year lease on office/warehouse space we felt confident showing to vendors and clients.
We recruited a contract electrician and the office manager from my previous employer, ensuring we had experienced administration and on-staff help for lighting projects. Then we remodeled the space, replacing fluorescent fixtures with recessed cans and dimmers, running network cabling throughout. We had a logo, letterhead, business cards, and website designed. We lettered both service vans and set up a phone system with after-hours emergency rollover to mobile phones.
Due to my previous relationships with Panasonic, Lutron Lighting, and Crestron sales reps, plus a substantial deposit from a client who needed all three product lines in their new home, we became dealers for all three manufacturers quickly.
Eighteen months in, we were seven talented people under 40 who had gained the trust of high-end builders, architects, and notable clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We had covered operating expenses and payroll without additional funding, had over $1M of scheduled business in various stages of completion, and there were more projects coming.
Then conflicts developed between partners, as scheduling delays exposed irreconcilable differences in operating philosophy. It became clear the best path forward was for me to leave, so I trusted my intuition and took another leap into the unknown.
(2003-2009) Program, Design, Consult
There was no downtime after leaving. A Fort Worth client building a new home asked me to handle their AV and security systems. Within a month I had a deposit on a $150k project.
As things were wrapping up on that project, Crestron called asking if I could help a dealer in Austin. It started with programming a whole-house Crestron system for a retired Dell executive and kept going from there. Travel to Austin for programming work became so frequent that for about a year I kept apartments in both Arlington and Austin.
Ultimately I relocated to Austin full-time, and kept meeting people who needed help. Over the next six years, I worked as a contract programmer and consultant to several Audio Video companies, and worked directly for residential and commercial clients:
Programmed and implemented a Crestron automation system at the Austin home of a US Congressional Representative
Designed and managed installation of Crestron automation, Lutron Lighting, phone and gate entry systems, and audio-video systems for a 24,000 sq.ft. house outside Austin
Programmed and implemented a Crestron-based interface to security, camera, and access control systems at the Texas Governor's Mansion in downtown Austin
Obtained Canadian work visa and assisted in completion of multiple Crestron projects in Vancouver, including one aboard a 55-foot motor yacht
Managing large projects with a lot of moving parts usually involves long lead times, endless meetings, and inevitable scheduling delays. But the payoff was always seeing the design come to life, and watching people enjoy the finished system.
However, one Sunday afternoon I found myself debating whether to accept another project. It implied a multi-year commitment, and I realized I felt burned out. Despite spending my working days in homes that could be (or were) in Architectural Digest, I'd been going nearly non-stop since 1996.
I reflected on my time in the Arizona desert fifteen years earlier, living in a yurt, watching sunsets, listening to the nearby creek, and knew it was time for a change. After a brief search and a long weekend in North Carolina, I found a remote writer's cabin outside Asheville. In August 2009, my dog and I left Austin for the Blue Ridge Mountains.
My focus for many years was refining the design of several consumer electronics products. The original idea came after visiting the home of Lin Yutang in 2014, while living in Taiwan. He is known for his writing, but he also invented a Chinese language typewriter, which is the inspiration for a new series of human input devices. The research and technical design associated with those devices, along with exploring a few other ventures, required much time and effort over the last 10 years.
During this period:
Lived in California (2010-2012)
Lived in Thailand, Taiwan, and Canada (2012-2017)
Designed a series of human input devices inspired by Lin Yutang's Chinese typewriter
Developed the conceptual model for what I call the Personal Server
Remodeled a 34-foot Airstream travel trailer for full-time travel and explored the Western US (2018-2021)
The same approach that took me from law firm clerk to managing projects for high-end clients, is how I have approached the question: "Why isn't anyone manufacturing flexible OLED lighting in North America?"
What began as curiosity has evolved into...something bright. I moved from "why isn't anyone doing this?" to a complete roadmap, essentially by doing the same thing I've always done: independent research and partnering with the right people, followed by execution...
