In 2002, my business partner and I left the investment banking industry and became entrepreneurs. What started as a passive investment quickly became an all-encompassing journey. Along the way there were many highs and lows and because of that, it has been a great ride. Based on necessity, we transformed our business through the adoption of a subscription revenue model that drastically improved the unit economics of our stores. Wearing multiple hats, we learned operations, marketing, real estate development, construction, human capital management and how to take out the trash with vigor. In 2015, we had a vision of how our industry would change and what we needed to do to remain relevant. Three years later we recapitalized the business with a private equity group and family office sponsor and grew the business from 8 locations to more than 100 and are one of the leading platforms in our industry. More important, we have grown from 1 part-time employee to a dedicated, hard-working team of 1,200+. Providing jobs and establishing life-long relationships has been much more rewarding than our financial success. After nearly 25 years, I decided to step down as CEO and turn the reigns over to someone with the experience to take the company to an even higher level. We found an incredibly qualified, high quality person to take the helm. Today I remain involved in the business and am looking for outside board opportunities to help companies grow and achieve superior results.