Introduction

Abstract

SUMMER, 1998. JIM COYER AND I ARE SIPPING beers on the patio, overlooking the canyon behind my new house in San Diego. Jim and I had founded NeocorTech four years before, a software company that was more of a hobby than a business, and yet there we were enjoying the benefits of a $1 million dollar cash sale. Jim got a third. I got a third. Our other partners and employees got a third. And, we literally forgot Uncle Sam, who also wanted a third in income taxes. That left my wife and me with just enough of a payoff to justify four years without a salary or health insurance, and it meant that we could buy three things put off for way too long. A new house with a yard, where I could build a sandbox for our two kids. A puppy. And, finally, some new socks and underwear.