My First Boss

This past weekend, I ran into Pete Winston, the president of ICS, the company I worked for immediately after college.

Pete interviewed me all those many years ago, when I was a young buck finishing up college. I spent a wonderful four years at ICS, watching the company grow from 40 to 100 people. The first week I was there, we moved from tight attic-space to a spacious floor in a brand new building near the heart of MIT. There was a feeling of opportunity and excitement that prevailed those first few months I was there.

At ICS, I was given every opportunity to flourish and grow. I worked on C and UNIX programs (eventually shipping code that facilitated software installation from a CD-ROM). I worked on technical training (hitting San Jose and Dallas seemingly every month for almost a year). I learned about technical sales, and technical marketing. I knew everyone at the company, and for a while, it was my social structure. I met a lot of good people there. It was the perfect place for a new graduate.

Pete and I chatted about a few people, and traded views on the hi-tech economy. We caught up with where things were. It's amazing how quickly you can 'catch up'.

As I write this, I'm now remembering the one thing I wanted to say after we parted: Thanks for taking a chance and hiring me all those years ago!