Founding Stories is a collection of interviews with business founders that share the sometimes quirky and funny beginnings of businesses through seven questions. These interviews are intended to uncover the early stories that are key to understanding who the founders and their companies are today. I hope that readers will find inspiration and a lot of laughs from these recollections.

Chris McKee

CEO

Kevin Winters of CompanyMileage talks about financing his first company with 13 credit cards and having to paint their first CompanyMileage office themselves.

Ken Baker tells the story of having to come up with a company name in 15 minutes and using outplacement funds from his last employer to start his company

Chris McKee of Venturity on trading Cowboys tickets for office furniture and what he says when he leaves the office every Friday

Ches Williams of Frontera talks obnoxious ice breakers and hiring an Elvis impersonator to do sales

Doug Tatum shares stories of officing out of his brother’s car and no longer owning the rights to his own name

Darin Klemchuk of Klemchuk LLP on fighting fires (literally) and his “Jerry Maguire” moment

Will Snook on being bizarrely open and why he did right by his former employer, even after he left.