A Knock on the Door That Changed Everything

Way back when, my late grandfather bought my brother and me our first computer—a Macintosh LC. We used that thing for hours every day, clicking, exploring, and learning. I became obsessed with desktop publishing and digital art, inspired by my aunt, who was experimenting with graphic design on the West Coast.

One day, a package arrived in the mail: a few floppy disks containing Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

I was instantly hooked. The idea that I could create art on a computer was mind-blowing—especially because my pen, pencil, and crayon skills were painfully subpar. Determined to learn, I went straight to Borders Books and picked up every Illustrator and Photoshop guide I could find. I spent countless hours teaching myself the ins and outs of those programs.

A Knock on the Door That Changed Everything

One afternoon in 7th grade, I was in our “playroom,” sitting at the computer, minding my own business, while a real estate agent showed our home to a young couple. To this day, I have no idea why I was home—every other time we had a showing, we left.

I happened to have Adobe Illustrator open when the couple walked in. The agent gave the usual tour, but I quickly realized that the older gentleman in the group was way more interested in what I was doing on the screen than the room itself.

He walked over and started asking me a bunch of questions—What was I working on? How long had I been using a computer? Did I understand how the software worked? I answered casually, thinking nothing of it. They left the room, continued the tour, and I went back to my design work.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

It was the same gentleman. He handed me his business card and said, “If you ever want real-world business experience with this kind of software, give me a shout. I run a digital agency in Manhattan. We’re building graphics for this thing called ‘the World Wide Web.’ It’s the future.”

I thanked him, stuck the card somewhere, and kept working—having zero clue that I had just met the person who would change my career trajectory forever.

A Year Later, My Life Changed Again

The couple ended up buying our house, and we moved to the other side of White Plains, NY.

A year later, my dad reminded me about the business card and suggested I email the guy to see if he had any internship opportunities for an incoming high school freshman.

Turns out, he did. His agency was on a winning streak, landing new business left and right, and he needed all hands on deck.

He offered me a paid (!!) internship and personally picked me up from my parents’ house every morning to drive me into Manhattan. Most evenings, I had to figure out my way home because he was off at work dinners (and I was way too young to join).

My First Taste of the Digital World

At his agency—i33 Communications (which later became AppNet, then Commerce One… then i33 again)—I rotated through four departments, spending two weeks in each:

• Graphics/Creative – Where I worked on designs for client projects.
• Ad-Tech (brownies!) – I have zero recollection of what I did, but seeing ad tech infrastructure being built was amazing. Cool fact: i33 was building brownies, not cookies.
• Communications – Where I helped assemble client pitch decks.
• Account Management – Where I ran errands, did competitive research, and got plenty of coffee.

It was the mid-’90s, and what I saw every day in that office was the birthing of the internet—early websites, the infrastructure that powered them, and the people building the digital future. It was mind-blowing.

Gratitude & Paying It Forward

To this day, I do not take that opportunity for granted.

I’m still in touch with the man who took a chance on me. A bunch of years ago, we reconnected and reminisced about how wildly lucky that moment was. I remain humbled by his generosity—he had no reason to pull me in, yet he did.

I share this story because luck plays a massive role in our lives.

I should not have been home that day. But I was. And I wasn’t watching Boy Meets World (Topanga!) or Full House—I was sitting at a computer, using the one piece of software that happened to catch his eye.

That’s crazy to think about.

And because of that one chance encounter, I’ve spent my entire career paying it forward—helping the next generation get their start, just like someone once did for me.