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I'm the eldest of five born in a small Kenyan town. My Dad, a serial entreprenuer and Mum a brilliant school teacher, did their best to give us the best life they could —but it was always a struggle.
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During school holidays, I accompanied my grandfather (Guka) traveling for miles on foot, fundraising to build churches and schools in remote villages. Although it was challenging, he did it voluntarily and cheerfully, and I tagged along just to hang out with him.

When I was about 9, I started questioning why he endured such challenges. He responded, with what would eventually be my business mantra. "Everyone has the right to define success for themselves and the quickest path to that goal is to find a way to serve the most people."

(To be honest, at the time I thought he just dodged my question 🤔)

My parents raised us while supporting their own siblings. Meanwhile, education was REALLY expensive. If I was going to get through college, I was going to have to step up.
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—This was when Guka's words👆came flooding back. "...find a way to serve the most people."

At 19, I used my entire tuition grant to bootstrap a coin-operated pool table empire. Picture me, traveling across Kenya in buses, transporting pool tables, and stashing duffel bags of coins under my dorm room bed (since I didn't even have a bank account!) 😆 

Despite the need for secrecy (due to my💰stash), this venture was a smashing success, helping with my siblings tuition, putting me through college and providing a boost for my parents.

I was on the brink of becoming a pool table kingpin but nature had other plans...

A few years later, I was one of just a few people worldwide, selected into the U.S. State Department's green card lottery. By this time, I had built another impressive business that was on the verge of exploding 🚀🚀🚀, so I didn't feel like a winner at the time …and yet I'd hit the jackpot in life, quite literally. 

My first flight to America was the shortest 24hr flight I ever took. As I sat on that plane, nerves jangling, with a one-year-old son in my arms and a hundred bucks in my pocket I was genuinely terrified. I embarked on this solo journey without the support of everyone I had known up to this point in my life But I was determined to improve my family's life and make a meaningful difference.
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On that flight, deep down knew I was going to return to entrepreneurship, but I had left my entire support system back home. Yet I still believed "it takes a village" to do incredible work. I had to build another village (in a strange land) —Yikes! 😬

Acclimating to a foreign land involved epic culture shock plus a variety of menial jobs starting with a memorable misstep at a Subway interview (where I shot myself in the foot by asking what I believed was the "ultimate question for an interviewer" - "What's a sub?" - and sadly, the callback never came, 😅).

One of my first jobs was as a social worker for the Department of Mental Health, extensively engaging with Therapists for my clients. What became evident was that Therapists pursue this profession not solely for financial gain; it demands significant personal sacrifice exceeding the compensation. It's a genuine call to serve others. Simultaneously, I observed the ongoing shortage of Therapists.

Unfortunately, the administrative burden and excessive computer work often took precedence over positively impacting my clients.

In 2007, I transitioned from Mental Health to IT consulting, collaborating with my co-founder Amy to serve healthcare providers in private practices.

In early 2020, we launched a tech-enabled IOP Addiction Clinic, leveraging our software. The fast success was due to our foresight in preparing our technology for COVID lockdowns, ensuring our practice operated fully virtually, even including payment workflows. As inquiries poured in from other providers during the lockdown, we recognized the clear market need.

Rather than trying to play "hero", we decided to be the best "wingman" for the real life heroes —Therapists, by sharing our platform with the Mental Health community.

As TiQ's CEO (aka Chief Experience Officer), I live my own NatureCrafted dream by:
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💫 Creating a tech platform that empowers forward thinking Practices to serve more people (with the same resources or less) 🦾
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💫 Empowering my team's holistic growth, as professionals & as human beings 🤗
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💫 Building value for our Shareholders & Investors who continue to provide fuel to our fire 🔥

Living up to the challenge set by my beloved Guka – serving as many people as possible (through serving others).

For a kid born with a unique hand, in a tiny one bedroom house, in a tiny town, in a 3rd world country —How freakin’ awesome is that!?