I started my first business as a teenager. A computer repair company. I was solving problems for people before I had any framework for what business actually was. That instinct never left.
I became an aviation broker, selling parts internationally and brokering aircraft sales. I learned how to cold call, how to have real conversations, and how to believe in what you sell. Everything was tracked by part numbers. Only a handful of MRO facilities in the world carry out the maintenance. Then the recession hit and the industry shifted beneath me. I pivoted. That pattern would repeat throughout my career. Build, adapt, build again.
I moved into aviation operations at Delta Air Lines. The "Crazy 8s" class, 2008 to 2012. Based in New York City, covering LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark. Flying routes across the US, through London, Dublin, and Shannon. I held a pilot's license. The plan was helicopters first, then commercial aviation. When that chapter closed, I carried the same instinct into my next move.
I built a real estate brokerage. I was making six figures. I sold my first million dollar property. I also built a property management company alongside it. The model worked. But I saw something bigger.
I left my own producing brokerage because I saw something worth building.