I started my first technology company when I was eighteen because I believed the Internet and software were going to change the world, and I wanted to dedicate my life to that mission.
For a kid growing up in the Midwest, the Internet felt like the great equalizer. It gave anyone with curiosity, ambition, and an idea the ability to compete on a global stage. You could imagine something, build it, publish it, and reach the world. That possibility changed my life. It showed me that software was not just a technology; it was a force that could unlock human potential and turn ideas into reality.
In 2003, I joined Microsoft, where I had a front-row seat to some of the most consequential technology decisions of the modern era. From my executive staff role with Steve Ballmer, then CEO of Microsoft, to my work as a product manager on the front lines, I watched the company confront multiple existential shifts: the rise of open source, the transition to cloud and mobile computing, and the disruption of search.
Each moment forced a strategic question about ownership, control, and the future architecture of technology. Each decision carried monumental consequences. The clearest evidence may be the device you are using to read this right now. You are more likely reading it on an iPhone or MacBook than on a Windows device.
That is the magnitude of architectural choices. They do not merely determine which products win. They shape the platforms people live on, the ecosystems companies build within, and the future that entire industries inherit.
When I founded Turvo in 2014, I saw a similar architectural opportunity in supply chain and logistics. The industry was essential to the global economy, but still fragmented across legacy systems of record, phone calls, emails, spreadsheets, EDI messages, and manual coordination. I wanted to build a more connected and collaborative platform where shippers, brokers, carriers, drivers, and customers could operate from a shared system of truth.
But I also wanted to go further. At the time, I believed the next breakthrough in enterprise software would come from intelligent agents that could automate human workflows. I wanted to build agents based on belief-desire-intention architecture that could watch over shipments, detect exceptions, coordinate actions, and eventually automate large parts of the logistics process.
In retrospect, the vision was early. The industry was not yet digital enough. Sharing real-time shipment information was itself a major step forward. The data required to power intelligent agents was fragmented, incomplete, and trapped across legacy systems. The AI technology was also too immature and brittle for a Fortune 500 company to trust with mission-critical operations. At the time, much of the frontier of AI was focused on image recognition and the early struggle to make natural language systems reliable.
But I never gave up on the belief that one day the timing would be right to build a next-generation AI platform for the enterprise. The Internet showed me what happens when software gives individuals the power to build and compete globally. Microsoft showed me how architectural choices can determine the future of entire industries. Turvo showed me that even the right vision must wait for the right substrate.
That moment has now arrived. AI has become powerful enough, enterprise data is becoming connected enough, and agents are becoming capable enough to reimagine how companies think, build, operate, and compete. That is why I wrote The Sovereign Enterprise.
Acknowledgments
This work did not happen in isolation. It was shaped by many conversations and debates with people who challenged the argument, sharpened the ideas, and encouraged me to keep going. I am grateful for their time, insight, and support.