In February I had dinner with Cathleen Asch, my former partner and co-founder of Truevision, and Jim Dadmun, formerly the President and CEO of Techex, Truevision’s international distributor. Cathleen had just landed a short-term CFO gig for a local company. Her assignment is winding down now and she organized another dinner get-together, this time at the Macaroni Grill in Burlington. Once again it was wonderful to catch up on old times. Our conversation was largely focused on travel and international politics. Jim recounted his exploits during the fall of the Berlin Wall, sneaking across the border to drink with a group of East Germans, and the complications of trying to return the next day without the proper travel documents. Cathleen shared details of her recent trip to Russian Georgia and me about my exploits on Mount Fuji and plans for Nepal. Although we missed the window to organize a Truevision 25 year reunion I am hoping we can start planning now for one next year.

I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my 33 year career in the high tech industry (even my last few months at Sonos while clashing with its CEO). Even so, my experience at Truevision stands above all the rest. As Cathleen and I discussed this shared feeling, we agreed that it was our naivety about running a company that contributed to the amazing culture we were able to foster. We were motivated by a desire to revolutionize the then analog world of film and video through the introduction of digital imaging rather than the goal of maximizing profits and grooming our finances for an IPO. The Truevision board had no venture capitalists. We were simply a group of intrepid adventurers looking to redefine an industry. What a grand journey we enjoyed as we pursued that vision.