As Equinox Information Systems marks thirty years in business, I feel compelled to acknowledge that our original business plan was, to put it charitably, overly optimistic. The venture nearly failed within months of its founding. Paychecks couldn't be cashed, and we relied on support from partner companies like American Sharecom and American Telco just to keep the lights on. My business partner Wayne Lowe sustained the operation by working as a programmer for these firms.
The breakthrough came through two developments: hiring a talented developer named Dennis Wynne, and gaining a customer who trusted us to solve a telecom fraud problem. That success revealed what our actual business strategy would become: Hire smart people, create solutions to problems, take care of the smart people, solve more problems.
Trust has formed the foundation of our three-decade success. We built it on honesty about both our strengths and our limitations — not on projecting a false image of perfection.
This anniversary has prompted me to reflect on something else as well. We live in an age of curated social media personas, where everyone's highlight reel is on constant display. The reality of building a company — or a life — is far messier than that. Equinox has faced layoffs, hiring mistakes, and ongoing challenges even as we've built something genuinely good. On a personal level, I've experienced a family crisis over the past five years that tested me in ways I couldn't have anticipated.
To process those difficulties, I took a sabbatical and sought book recommendations from trusted advisors. What I came back with were four insights I return to often:
- Asking for help is essential to navigating life's complexity.
- Prioritize "eulogy virtues" over "resume virtues" — a distinction drawn powerfully by David Brooks.
- Writing about the past, present, and future provides greater self-understanding than reading alone.
- Simplicity correlates with quality of life.
To our employees and customers: thank you. And if you are navigating something hard right now, know that you don't have to do it alone. Thirty years in, that's probably the most important thing I can say.
About the Author — Byron Middendorf is co-founder and CEO of Equinox Information Systems. To learn more about Equinox, visit equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.