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A lot of cool stuff has happened at Awesome Inc in its first month of operation. Like holding the first ever Forge Lexington meeting of over 65 entrepreneurs and investors.  Or the 4^th Geeks Night Out which had over 80 guests and featured a live DJ along with some fierce ping pong matches followed by a swing dance lesson from Premiere Dance.  Then there is the front page article on the Herald Leader Business Monday which promoted not only Awesome Inc but also the companies working out of the Awesome Space – aBetterOffice, APAX Software, BookExchange.com, Premiere Dance, Prosper MG – Done in: 60 seconds, Vision Business Solutions, and Xperience Education.  But all of this activity gets trumped by Awesome Inc’s most important contribution thus far – the small part it played in getting a homeless guy off the streets.

“I can cut in better than you,” yelled Pete from Main Street one night.  He was standing outside of Awesome Inc while I was on a ladder painting the front wall yellow.  My initial reaction was, “Oh great.  A homeless guy is critiquing my painting abilities.  I hope nobody heard him.  That would be a pretty serious blow to my confidence.”  I ignored him and figured he would go away.  Pete was persistent though and wasn’t going anywhere.  Instead he continued to tell me how bad of a painter I was and that he could do a professional quality job for just a sandwich and a drink.

I opened the door and let him in. He painted alongside Nathan and I for about an hour. He killed it and sure enough he didn’t ask for much. It was 2 am and I didn’t have a sandwich or drink for him so I gave him a $10 bill. I hesitantly gave him my phone number as well to call me and come back and do more work for us. About 3 weeks later, Pete had significantly contributed to painting the entire building and earned about $250.
I had no idea what Pete was doing with this money.  If I had to guess it would have been something irresponsible.  It wasn’t until he came by the Awesome Space one day and asked for a letter stating he had been doing part time work for Awesome Inc that I figured out what he was actually doing with the money.  He had been saving it (along with other income from side jobs, I’m sure) to get into a subsidized housing program and rent an apartment. 

Probably my favorite moment in the last month came when Pete came by not to do work, but to prove to us that he had closed on this apartment.  I’ll always remember driving Pete from the Awesome Space to his apartment the first night he stayed in it.  When we got there, Pete gave Luke, Matt and I the full tour which included his shoe collection in his closet featuring some Nike Jordan’s from the 90’s.

Pete’s off the street and in his new apartment.  And I think Awesome Inc played a role, even if it was only a small role. Pete is a quality guy who fell on some hard times.  He has a long way to go, but I believe in him.  Pete is available for inexpensive freelance painting and does a heck of a job. He is painting my friend Matt’s house this week.

My entire life I have been surrounded by great people. I was born into this world with the best parents, the best family, and the best examples of what solid relationships should look like. 

Twenty seven years later I have the greatest friends I could ever ask for. As I browsed through my facebook friends tonight, I looked down the list and said to myself, “quality friend, quality brother, quality business partner, quality teacher, quality mentor…”.  The list goes on. 

Quality – a degree or grade of excellence or worth. Every relationship I invest in I want it to have a degree of worth. Somewhere along the way in my 27 years of life I figured out the key to success in anything is surrounding yourself with awesome people. The best teammates = championship teams, the best friends = having the most fun when you hang out, the best business partners and co-workers = prosperous company.

It’s no secret that the people you’re surrounded by define your character more than anything else. That’s why when we interview a candidate for APAX Software we ask the candidate, “Tell me everything about your best friend”. 

Some of my friends from around the country often ask me why I don’t just leave Lexington, KY and live somewhere with better weather, cooler scenery, a better entrepreneurial community, or a beach. I tell them this every time, “If I could pick 100 of my closest friends and move them with me to a destination of my choice, I would move tomorrow.”  (if you’re reading this blog, you probably make the cut).

While, someday I probably will live somewhere besides Kentucky, up until now it’s not the basketball, the inconsistent climate, or the horses that have kept me here. It’s the billionaire valuation of my relationships.

Before I violate one of the most important rules (rule # 2: intellectual property), I need to give credit where credit is due on the term “relationship billionaire” (Luke, Dec. 2008, derived at the location of this picture).

At a recent entrepreneurial event in Lexington called Startup Weekend I got to work with the dreamteam on a fun, inspiring project that will most likely never put a dollar in my pocket (kind of reminds me of the BookExchange).  It’s called the dreamfear project.  If you’ve ever heard of post secret, the dreamfear project is similar, but instead of users posting their secrets, users anonymously post their dreams and fears.   The idea behind the dreamfear project is that if you think enough about your dreams and what you are afraid of then you might actually do something to achieve those dreams or avert those fears.

The project got me thinking about my own dreams and fears.  This is what I came up with.

I don’t think I’m alone in these dreams and fears.  I doubt I’m the only person who wants to be remembered for doing something big.  I also doubt I’m the only person in the world who lays in bed at night thinking – “what if I don’t find that special someone by the time I’m 30, or 35, or what if I’m 45 and I still haven’t found them…scary”.  I’m not alone and neither is everyone else when it comes to their dreams and fears. 

The primary purpose of the dreamfear project is to get people to DO something about their dreams and fears.  Let’s be clear that worrying about not accomplishing your dreams won’t do a bit of good.  Take it from Van Wilder who says, “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere…write that down.”  Worrying just creates panic and stress, it is a waste of time; constructive thought however, can get you to take action. 

The dreamfear project is an attempt to get people to think about, and ultimately do, the following:

- its ok to be afraid.

- its ok to dream big.

- realize other people have the same dreams/fears.

- dreaming or recognition of fears allows you to take action towards accomplishing those dreams or avoiding those fears.

 Check out the dreamfear project at: www.dreamfearproject.com.

I’m hanging 200 feet in the air above the Kentucky river, 100 feet below a railroad bridge named High Bridge in Wilmore, KY.  What else would I be doing at 1:00 am on a Thursday night?  I’m stopped because my hand is getting hot as the rope is starting to burn through my glove from the first 100 feet of the rappel.  The only thing holding me is a 10mm, 300 foot rope attached to the cheapest harness I could buy at J&D’s, one D-ring, and one 8-ring.  And the only I can think is “wow, my life is awesome.”

 I start to recall the last few months of my life. 

 - Merging my software business with another successful software business. = fortunate to surround myself with smart, awesome people.

- Trips to Boulder, CO and San Francisco, CA to learn how to start a business incubator called Awesome Inc. = way more fun than should be legal on a business trip.

- Coaching a full season with a soccer team of great and entertaining kids. = 5 wins, 7 losses, and 7 ties.  Most would write that off to a less than average season, but since 6 of our 7 losses were by one goal (and most of those goals scored against us were on corner kicks) and the players have really developed over the season, I am avoiding the trip to negative town and staying positive.

- Going on the most random, amazing, exciting date with an extremely fun and cool girl. = lots of fun and a great story to tell.

- Spelunking with the county judge and other awesome friends. = revolutionary, hopeful that I can remain ‘cool’ as I grow old.

- Dancing with old ladies at a local block party back home. = realizing the effects of alcohol on mature adults.

- Building a giant hour glass to be placed on UK’s campus.  This might sound like work, but I have the most amazing friends who helped with it which resulted in a project that was actually tons of fun. = realizing that good friends are invaluable.  Thanks Tyler, Justin, Marty, Rachel, Vanessa, Rachel, and Alyssa.

- Attending Big Blue Madness. = best basketball practice one can ever watch.

- Meeting people like the Mayor of Lexington, President of the University of Kentucky, Founder of Exstream software (recently bought out by HP) and having amazing conversations = incredible learning experience for a 26 year old.

When I started writing this blog over a year ago, I wrote this, “My name is Brian Raney and I like life.  The favorite thing about my life right now is that I don’t have anything in my life I dislike.”  That is still true…but it is actually better than that.  I pretty much love everything in my life right now. 

So, how did it get that way?  When did I change the measurement of fun from dinner and a movie to random nights of kickball and an 80’s dance party.  When did the bar get raised from hanging out at the club to having our own rock band party?  I think the answer is in the people.  I am a firm believer that your behavior is a reflection of the people you have around you.  I have written about this several times already on this blog.  Surround yourself with awesomeness and you will do something awesome.  And that is really all there is to it.  The last year of my life I have surrounded myself with the coolest, most fun, awesome people I can find.  Really, all of this awesomeness is thanks to them.  And now I am asking, no actually I’m begging and pleading, that all two or three of you out there that might read this blog entry do one thing - surround yourself with awesomeness and realize that life is meant to be great.

As my glove cools off I begin to slide down the rest of the rope and eventually drop into the river.  It’s then that I realize that Luke’s ‘last words’ to the camera just before the short-roping high bridge adventure was true – “It’s moments like this that make life truly worth living.”

 …to read more about the short-roping high bridge adventure click here - http://www.betterthanyourboyfriend.com/shortroping.htm.  This is a blog written by a guy named Tynan who came to speak about “living life awesome” at a UK eClub event.  While I don’t necessarily agree with all of the entries Tynan writes about on his blog, two things are for certain:

1. He lives an exciting and interesting life.
2. He is a much better writer than me, which is why I am letting him tell the story of our short-roping experience.

I am excited about the potential of our new company, APAX Software.  The combination of two successful companies that started just over a year ago should result in one extremely successful company.  APAX was founded by a friend of mine Ryan and grew from 2 to 11 employees.  SFENITY was founded by myself, my brother Justin, and my friend Matt and grew from 3 to 9 employees.  We just made our first hire as the ‘new APAX’, so that puts us up to 21 employees.  I always preach about surrounding yourself with the right people and getting quality people on your team.  I am confident that our new combined team is comprised of quality people and look forward to building something awesome with these guys.