1. Professional Life
1.1. Career Path
1.1.1. Back in Canada, I owned a business called Snow Melt Solutions that sold heated driveways and walkways so people wouldn't have to shovel. Now I just have exclusive distribution rights to the product and collect royalties.
1.1.1.1. I currently work at a Baltimore-based startup called FactoryFour, and we make software for manufacturers. I basically do all of the business stuff, it's me and 20 software engineers.
1.1.1.1.1. My goal is just to keep working on interesting stuff that I enjoy while making as much money as possible over the long run so that I can create the life I want for me and my family. I don't have a plan to be in a certain industry or in a certain role, for me it's as simple as: Max [Interesting Work x Expected Lifetime Financial Value of Opportunity] = Path I will take
1.1.1.2. I'm hiring for sales, design, and software engineering so if you're into any of those let me know!
1.2. Business Philosophy
1.2.1. Don't confuse formality for professionalism. The higher you go up in the business world, the more people are laugh, swear, and tell people the brutal truth. What most managers, employees, and people who are afraid of losing their jobs consider being "professional" is actually being"formal". You can still be professional while having a good time, and those that do get ahead way faster than those who don't. Next time you talk to a CEO, be their friend, not a Yes Man, and put yourself on their level.
1.2.1.1. "Networking" is just making friends. Nothing more. When you say you're going somewhere "To Network", what I hear is "I'm so bad at making friends that I actually need to focus a whole event on doing it." Just say you're "Going to a pub with your class" or whatever the event is.
1.3. Automate everything you can, even "automating yourself out of a job" - if you do that and someone fires you instead of promoting you, why would you want to be a part of that organizational culture anyway? If we look at organizations at any point in history, in hindsight it is obvious that the best businesses automate as much as possible. People used to write out entire books by hand. When the printing press came along and automated it, over time everyone switched to it. 75% of Americans used to work in farming, now it's around 2%. Again, things were automated. Automation is human, and it will keep happening so just embrace it instead of trying to fight it.
1.3.1. Don't take advice from people you wouldn't trade places with (in regard to what they're giving you advice about). You say you want to be successful in business, but do you seek the advice of the world's best business people? If you want to be the best at something, listen to what the best people have to say about it. It will make you grow faster than ever before whether that's in sport, in business, in music, or in practically anything else. Most people just consume regular, every day business news, yet say they want to get ahead. Just start consuming the writings and talks of the best business people in the world instead of listening to the daily noise of business
2. Education
2.1. Did a couple executive education programs from here,
2.2. Doing MBA, Healthcare Management concentration. This is my fifth course.
2.3. and here,
2.4. because I did my undergrad program in business at this Canadian school that nobody knows outside of the oil & gas industry.
3. Where I'm From
3.1. Newfoundland, a Canadian island on the eastern tip of North America. The Flat Earth Society calls it one of the Four Corners of The World.
3.1.1. It isn't really that Canadian (except hockey), for example I don't say "Eh" or have a Canadian accent, because Canada only bought us in 1949 and before that we were our own country. It's more European and looks like this,
3.2. and this,
3.2.1. and this,
3.2.1.1. and this!
3.3. The best part of all is that being from there means that in the United States, I'm officially one of these!
4. What I Do For Fun
4.1. Playing Rugby - it's like football with no gear and tougher players
4.1.1. Snowmobiling
4.1.2. Coaching Basketball
4.1.2.1. Building Cool Things