After we announced IT Glue’s acquisition of TruMethods, many people reached out to congratulate me. (For those of you who did, thank you.) Some even suggested that I must be proud of my accomplishment — launching, growing, and selling yet another company. While I appreciate their thoughts and understand their intentions, I actually have a different take on what it means to be proud.
You see, I have a sense of pride that I feel about my team, our customers, and what I would call “the TruMethods effect in the industry”. However, personally, I’m much more thankful than proud.
I was born a white male in the United States during an era of economic and technological growth. I never had to go to war. I was raised by parents that loved me, supported me, and valued education. Although I didn’t come from money, my dad was a blue-collar worker, this put me in a very favorable starting point, compared to most people on the planet.
I realized that while many others have had the same or a better starting point, they never took advantage of it. It’s true: I’ve worked hard. I feel like I have talents and skills that are unique and I’ve taken risks that others haven’t.
But I can’t help but think that there are many, many people raised in inner cities or less fortunate countries, women, and minorities that are just as smart and determined as I have been, and they simply haven’t had the same opportunities that I’ve had.
So, again, I have some pride, but I’m a lot more thankful.
What I’m most thankful for is that I’ve been able to really have a big chunk of my career on my own terms. I get to pursue goals that I’m passionate about and leverage my unique talents. The best part is that I get to do it with people that I like and admire, including our team members, the vendors and channel partners that we have, and our customers. It makes me look forward to the next phase of my career.
In many ways, that’s what the TruMethods acquisition is about, giving me and my team the opportunity to really think about, pursue, and continue making an impact on entrepreneurs, their teams, and their customers.