The 8020 Blog

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I interviewed Ryan Allis today. He started his business in 2003 and in the first two years he lived in a rented office … yep … lived in his office.

In those two years his sales totaled $12,000 and his expenses $17,000. He slept on a mattress on the office floor and ate noodles for 24 months. The only reason he did not go bankrupt was that a friend lent him $5,000 to pay off the most aggressive creditors.

This year Ryan will do $30 million in sales. He will turn 26 years of age in August.

Ryan’s parents were neither wealthy nor business-minded (father a priest, mother a social worker).  He got where he is today by thinking … finding a specific unmet need in the market place, then putting his all on the line to bring that idea to life in the market place.

He demonstrated guts and determination in the face of self-doubt and market place ambivalence.

Ryan has thus made it almost impossible for any of us to offer excuses - which is the main point of this blog … Ryan was born to lower middle class parents … no money apart from rent, food and power. No big advantage apart from a big heart. Nothing special … and yet he has achieved, at age 25, the extraordinary.

Thanks Ryan for the inspiration.