Founder & CEO | Pitted Labs
Was there a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today?
My first 17 years of life were pretty “vanilla”—normal family, normal school, B-average student who casually ate obscene amounts of Taco Bell mere minutes before playing a rec basketball game. My normal life quickly became abnormal when I was 17 years old, and my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He subsequently passed away only nine months later. As the oldest child and grandchild on both sides, I felt an immense amount of pressure (and obligation) to not only show everyone how resilient I was but also prepare to take care of my immediate family in lieu of my dad. I quickly went from a “normal” teenager to skipping all the regular growing-up milestones—like partying in college and making dumb mistakes—to a person with an insatiable desire to be the best I could be and accept nothing but the best. I don’t regret any of my choices or wish my past was different. Every single experience, both positive and negative, shaped me into the person I am today.
What do you hope to be doing in 10 years?
Maybe working on things because they fascinate me, not because I am required to. Maybe packing orders at my warehouse. Possibly traveling the world? Even taking a nap sounds nice. My hair might even grow back!
What advice do you have for other young professionals?
If you are looking to start your own business, don’t get discouraged if you can’t come up with some groundbreaking widget or the next Facebook. Successful businesses take many shapes and sizes, including some that are not very “sexy.” Focus on finding ways to innovate, including pre-existing businesses or industries, and make the customer experience better. Everyone deals with frustrations and pain points on a daily basis. If you can develop ways to alleviate those pain points or generally improve people’s lives, you will start to see business opportunities in a lot of places.
Connect with Tyler Allgaier on LinkedIn.