Enterprise Lease Accounting is not just about compliance -- it's also about big savings. Our customers save 7% by competing lease capital upfront using our marketplace and the Global Lessor Network (see below). They also save 10+% annually on the back-end by improving return performance and reducing evergreen payments. We've got plenty of proof. Payback is less than six months with a 3-4 digit ROI in the first 12 months. Very few other projects have that kind of financial impact. CFOs/Controllers can work with Procurement leaders to establish a business process management practice and deploy LeaseAccelerator. The pursuit of savings incents procurement and operations around the world to deliver quality data that controllers need for public financial reporting -- in this way compliance and savings are inextricably linked.

At LeaseAccelerator (above), we help our clients source capital for equipment leases in many countries. Our clients include Fortune 500 lessees -- mostly industrial and process manufacturers, service providers, cloud-companies, and healthcare companies. The Global Lessor Network enables lessors around the world to tell our clients about their company, especially the kind of equipment finance deals they like to do. Lessors register at no cost simply by completing a detailed profile that captures the deal sizes, credits, geographies, and asset types that they finance at www.lessornetwork.com. Then, thanks to our intelligent matching technology, when any one of our clients has a lease deal that matches a lessor's profile, the client can research the lessor’s full profile, and decide to include them in a competitive bid (aka sourcing event). Lessors can then pursue and win opportunities they otherwise would not see. Lessors like it because they receive transaction opportunities with all of the information that they need to win new business at their fingertips, while greatly reducing their origination costs. Registration is free: www.lessornetwork.com. Our lessee clients value the service because they can find lessors that exactly match their needs in any country where they do business, which saves them time and money. We've transacted more than $2B in competitive bids in 26 countries covering many asset types: material handling (lots of forklifts), IT (servers, storage, laptops), networking gear, truck, trailer, and car fleets, corporate aircraft (fun!), rail cars, machine tools, measurement equipment -- you name it. We have about 550 lessors registered around the world; 185 in the US, including all of the big banks and top brands. We get an average of 7 bids per event (11 in health care -- very competitive space) and our lessee clients save 7% on average on a PV basis. We've saved customers millions of dollars with LeaseAccelerator and the GLN ecosystem.

I founded DataZen, a SaaS company, to help telecom companies analyze markets at the building level before building out their networks. We aggregated firmagraphic data to help our clients build their network to the most profitable locations first using geospatial analysis. Although I raised a lot of dough (equity and debt), we never got far off the ground because of the implosion of the telecommunications market and my general mismanagement, driven largely by a "first-to-market" aspiration with the blind expectation that the capital would be there...uh, it wasn't. I was unceremoniously removed in April 2001. I now look back on this experience as one of the greatest assets of my career. Besides the humble pie, I learned a lot more on the downside about what works and doesn't in start-up companies and what I am good at and not good at as an executive. More importantly, it helped me clarify my values and the importance of deliberately designing my life around what I value.

Ecologic Corporation developed custom software applications for federal government agencies and businesses that typically involved research and development of new software capabilities or architectures in response to scientific or data analysis requirements. Many of the projects we won because of our expertise with large-scale and complex databases. We bootstrapped this one using shoe-leather, elbow grease, and bank debt. Lot's of novelty, challenges, innovation, and fun. This was my MBA -- most of it can't be taught in school. Luckily I was surrounded by people a lot smarter than me (although I did not know it at the time...sorry!) A positive exit and a reasonable win. I remain grateful to all for their hard work and patience with me as I climbed the learning curve. In the end, we did accomplish something marvelous.

After acceptance to grad school, I went on the road. I quit my job to raise money for a charity that I was involved in, the Fabretto Children's Foundation, a Nicaraguan organization dedicated to feeding and educating the poorest children in Central America. This was a solo trip across the country on a Cannondale road bicycle. I left Avalon, NJ on 11/21/90 and arrived in San Diego, CA on 12/23/90. With a strong headwind, I raced southward, away from the cold. I stayed with family and friends where I could. Most nights I cooked on my whisper-lite stove and slept in my single-man tent, hidden in the trees. Most memorable was the hospitality extended to me by complete strangers throughout the south, especially the little, rural baptist churches who let me camp in the back. I spent $726 in total on the trip and raised $3600. I then joined a few friends to drive by car to Nicaragua to visit the children's homes, deliver the funds, and serve the organization however I could on-site. Check out: www.fabretto.org and give generously. Like 99% of each dollar gets to the children's nutrition and education.

Fresh out of school, I learned a lot in this job. The company made a digital video authoring software for the first digital video chipsets that were commercially available. The early applications of this technology included product marketing, product demonstrations, training, and kiosks. Firstly, I learned how to do deals. I put together distribution agreements with Intel and IBM in Europe and a variety of resellers in the US. Secondly, I got the inside view of a bootstrapped start-up and all of it's trials, tribulations, and successes. Thirdly, I learned the importance of selecting good people - the greatest power a CEO has. Fourthly, I realized the value of deeply understanding both your target market and the technology to effective execution, especially in strategy-making, executive leadership, and sales. So, I applied to graduate school to gain this understanding.