Laid off at the peak of my career, 15 years in the making, and as one of the top sales professionals in my industry, I felt something inside of me change. After countless rounds of interviews with prospesctive new employers, I decided to take the road less traveled.

This is My Story:

It all started in 2009. Graduating with a Physics and Math Degree from Villanova, I dropped into the worst economy in almost 100 years. The Great Recession was in full swing. Friends of mine who had accepted signing bonuses from Wall Street firms were having the money clawed back. Myself, I was just looking to find somewhere I could make $15 an hour instead of $10. I had grown up working in my father’s restaurant. Washing dishes and waiting tables was second nature to me, but I wanted something more, and so did my father. He didn't want me slaving away like he had for so many years.

I decided to answer a Craigslist job ad and little did I know, it would change my life forever.

The job at first seemed promising. We were working on scientific instrument equipment that would be shipped to laboratories all around the world. I was tasked with repairing some broken down machines and also with receiving and shipping the new arrival machines. Soon I found out that the hiring manger, lawyer, CEO & Owner were all actually the same man. There was one other guy working there and myself, 3 people. I could not believe that a company, selling high tech X-Ray equipment, was only 3 people. It was Myself, an intern/nobody, the secretary guy who spoke OK english, and the Owner who rarely showed up. Pretty soon I got involved with the sales side of the business and got an early crash course into using Salesforce – which was basically unknown at the time.

I only spent 3 months there in that first job. But what I learned there, I would save forever. Soon the economy turned around and I began my career in corporate technical sales. Over the next several years I ascended through the ranks, selling at different companies within the industrial automation sector, eventually niching down into 3D LiDAR sensors for Autonomous Vehicles.

The LIDAR industry was a great opportunity for me. I saw the new technology trend early and quickly became one of the most knowledgable people in the field. I was fortunate enough to lead distributor and sales teams at some of the leading companies and even got to ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq as we went for an IPO.

Everything was going great until 1 year into a new position at a new LiDAR company, I was unexpectedly laid off. I could not believe it, and even worse, I had a family to support. 

Thankfully, I had started a side project 10 years earlier in 2015 – The Universal Grip Company. This company was completely different than my corporate jobs. It was much more like that first Craigslist job I had had all those years ago. Any time I was frustrated with my day job, I would pour my energy into this side project.

The way it works is, we import equipment from Europe, and sell it in the US or globally. Often times, we make the sale first, and then buy/sell the equipment afterwards. We were cash flow positive from day one, selling hardware into a 100+ year old industry. We were the newest company in the sector in the last 30 years and nobody could beat our pricing or delivery time.

One of the key advantages we have at Universal Grip is leveraging all of the modern internet and business tools that are available today. Online search, cloud accounting systems, low price CRM systems. Today, with Chat GPT and AI Tools, it is even easier than it was 10 years ago. All of the existing companies were bogged down by legacy systems, while we were able to build lean from the start, using a modern approach with cutting edge tools. Fast forward 10 years later, and the perfect opportunity has arrived to recreate the success of Universal Grip not just once, but hundreds of times in hundreds of different industries. This is how Fast Forward Founders was born.

Here, through this website, this material, and Frank’s leadership, we are growing a community of founders. This community is growing by the day, and we are going up against some of the largest and most established companies in the world. Solo-preneuers and small teams can now compete on the global stage – technology and the internet has leveled the playing field.

If you are knowledgeable in any of these subjects, and interested in building a business for yourself, book a call with Frank and learn how to get started today. The best part about it is that its free to start. All you need is the will and the vision.

When JFK asked Wernher Von Braun what it would take to get a man to the moon, Von Braun answered with only 5 words – The will to do it.