The one who stayed, and the sound of delusion

I was raised by my grandparents, Larry and Karin Towslee. Papa and Nana. First they raised me and taught me to live. Then, as they got older, I became their caretaker, and they raised me again and taught me to stay.

For a long time, I was the one who stayed. They taught me that love is staying when the world says you don't have to. Papa showed up to work every day and loved his family like that was all that mattered. Nana walked the perimeter. Those years are the subject of my memoir, How to Die with Grace.

"Like time, and with time, these emotions will pass."Papa

That line got me through grief. Now it gets me through fear.

A college professor once asked our class: if you could create a new sound, what would it make you feel? I came up with the sound of delusion. Every successful person had to hear a sound nobody else heard, the sound of "I don't know how to do this" turning into "I will learn how to do this."

That sound is how I built two companies. I didn't know how to build software, run a service business, price a job or close a deal. I learned each one by doing it, on real jobs, for real customers, and I funded the start with 3,000 DoorDash deliveries.

In October 2026 I moved from Carlton, Minnesota to San Ramon, California. Leaving isn't the opposite of what my grandparents taught me. It's the next lesson. Papa believed nothing exists alone and everything is connected, so I'm not leaving anyone behind. I'm bringing every lesson with me.

I'm a little scared, but only because I'm excited. In twenty years we'll regret the things we didn't do more than the things we tried and failed at. So I'm giving this everything I have.

"You sit, you eat, you listen, you stay. And when it's time, you go."

Caretaking taught me to show up every day, stay calm when things are hard, and finish what I start. Building taught me to learn anything I need to. If you hire me or work with me, that's what you get: someone who stays, learns fast and delivers what he promised.