Any graduation brings with it competing emotions that one must accept: excitement for what lies ahead, wistful thoughts of the experience and relationships built. The past few weeks have been that, culminating in the completion of the Founder Institute program last Tuesday. I resisted the urge to immediately write from my emotions, as I wanted the experience to settle just a bit, but not so much that I lose touch with them.
After 20 years as a technology rock star for some pretty cool companies, and running my own consulting practice, I yearned for a project that would get me back to my roots as a hacker. But, with my development skills sorely lacking, I knew I would be better equipped to build a team around a product of my own vision. After a few halfhearted attempts, I came across the announcement of Founder Institute in Chicago. This, I believed, was the accelerant needed to give my vision focus and move it forward.