I was raised by my grandparents who ran a successful truck repair business. I always wanted to run my own business, but there was an unspoken rule in my family – “Go to college.”

So I did—I earned a mechanical engineering degree in 1991.

After graduation, I moved from New Jersey to Ireland for a year, then settled in Seattle, where I spent the next 20 years. I started my career in medical products and earned my MBA in 1999.

That eventually led to 10 years with Starbucks, where I gained invaluable experience in large-scale operations and leadership.

In 2015, I moved to Dallas for a new opportunity—but that role didn’t work out as planned. The upside? It led me to join a startup in 2016.

I jumped at the chance to build something from the ground up with three other people.

It was everything I’d hoped for—fun, e ...