YASH KAPADIA

“My father was really important to me. He taught [me] so many important things, like being disciplined, working hard, studying, taking care of your family. In 12th grade, he coached me on how I should choose my career and said that I should choose science. He told me that I should always work hard and study hard. When I was young, it was difficult to follow that advice. There were so many distractions; it was easier to hang out with friends than to spend time with books. One time, we had exams coming up, and instead of focusing and studying for the exams, I went out with my friends to have fun. I think I should have studied more — that’s one thing I regret. I think I could have gotten better grades, and I could have had a different career now. I love my career now — it is fantastic — but I could have had a different career, one deeper in the sciences, deeper in engineering and technology. 

I decided to start my company in 1995. I became a software engineer — that was my first job out of engineering school — and I had learned a lot of good things and I decided to put them to use. I'd learned the engineering side and then I wanted to move over to the customer facing side. The first five years had a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of hard work — I was working two jobs. I worked for 16 hours a day, and I read a lot of books; there was a lot of learning that happened in those years. The hardest moment was running payroll every month, and having money in the bank to pay your employees. There were times when I was very close to not having enough, but I always had it. It took three years, and then once we got settled in things fell into place. When you are running your own company, you have to constantly look ahead and make sure you have more income than your expenses, to be cash flow positive. 

I was proud when the twins [Nikki and Kaden] were born because it was so exciting. The kids were so cuddly and it was such a nice warm feeling. The months leading up to it were very calm because both the kids were inside mommy's tummy. It was very relaxed until they were born and then everything changed because then we had to take care of two kids. There were sleepless nights, and a lot of excitement and a lot of running around and a lot of fun.

My best memory with Nikki was when Nikki came to the airport to pick me up from one of my trips and she was super excited and with Kaden. One of the best memories was hugging him and reading bedtime stories to him, and at one time he gave me a big bite on my cheek.