My new apartment overlooked a harbor. It was smaller than the penthouse and came with very little furniture. I bought a desk before I bought a dining table.
From that desk, I could watch sailboats pass the windows while I reviewed patent files. No assistant managed my calendar, and no one else filled it for me.
The day after I landed, I carried an encrypted data stick into the downtown office of Croft Ventures. The firm had a reputation for funding technical founders early.
I had sent Julian only a summary and the public patent numbers. The full architecture stayed encrypted until we were inside a secure conference room.
Julian Croft was younger than I expected. He asked three questions about the patents, six about scalability, and none about my marriage.
He took notes by hand and wai
