From a young age my brother and I had the good fortune of being introduced to personal computing. We were hooked the moment our eyes feasted upon the monochromatic display of our Tandy 8088, which was an extremely progressive and generous holiday gift to get from one’s grandfather. To me, our home computer was a fancy new video game console but, to my brother, it was access to whole new world that needed to be explored immediately. By the time I had caught on to what David had already figured out, he was far out in front.
Watching my brother ingrain himself in the world of computers was nothing short of impressive. From computer programming to computer assembly, he explored every facet of computer technology. He was like that kid who took apart the vacuum cleaner to see how it worked. As the home PC started to become common place, it didn’t take long for the neighbors to start calling our house to see if David could help them out. They paid him for his time and Bonecomp Computer Consulting was born.
In the beginning, my barely teenaged brother would be taken by his driver (our mom) across town from appointment to appointment to fix and teach computers. He did this for years, building an impressive client base while steadily raising his prices. However, it was when our father’s company decided to migrate all their systems to Windows 95 that things really took off. Having become familiar with their software from constantly fixing our dad’s machine, David was perfectly positioned to help his colleagues with their transitions.
Leave it up to my brother to not only help them migrate their computers, but to also figure out a way to get the new software to work on existing computers that were deemed incompatible. Dave easily saw around this problem and created proprietary “boot-disk” that allowed the software to be installed, saving anyone who paid for it thousands of dollars in new hardware. Poor mom was now driving him all over South Florida to visit different branch offices and, with each migration taking anywhere from 3-5 hours to complete, business was booming for Bonecomp.
Dave continued running the business right on up to leaving for college. After college, he spent a few years in higher education teaching entrepreneurship and innovation while also earning his MBA. After business school, he left higher education for the corporate world and, in a full-circle-like move, carved himself a position in the very company he helped as a kid. It was an incredible display of how his experiences in entrepreneurship could benefit big business.
In his role, David bridges the gap between the company’s technology and its people. He intimately understands both the technological challenges facing the company’s field force as well as the engineers tasked with creating their tools and applications. Drawing upon his days of running Bonecomp, Dave found himself perfectly suited to create and communicate solutions between these two groups, moving his company forward (and providing value) in ways others simply cannot.
My brother is a prime example of how Millennial entrepreneurs can use their passions and savvy to benefit large organization and foster change from within. That thinking outside the box can be just as effective — even when you are inside. Companies need us. They need the Daves of the world to continue to bring us forward. It’s this shift in mindset that needs to continue to take place across corporate America. They can’t keep complaining about us because we learn or operate differently. At the end of the day, it’s worth sacrificing statute to ensure longevity.
Needless to say, my brother makes me very proud. He’s one of the most selfless, compassionate and generous individuals I know. He’s a proven leader and any company would be lucky to have him on their team. He represents some of our generation’s best qualities on both personal and professional levles. And ladies, in case you’re wondering, he is single.
Happy Birthday, Dave. There aren’t too many fintech intrapreneurs quite like you. Keep pushing us all to be better versions of ourselves, even if we happen to be pain in the ass little brothers like me.