The pathless extended ending5/27/2023 ![]() If that’s what you need to do to be happy, that’s what matters. You hear ‘oh you’re a dropout,’ or you’re taking a break and it’s ‘what are you doing?’ Who cares. “I know there’s a lot of pressure in general whether it’s parents, family, teachers, whatever to go that path of college. “Do what you need to do to be happy,” he says. That successful run has allowed him to offer perspective to friends facing similar tough decisions. Louis, the company that brought him here has begun to thrive and the idea of college is more of a potential horizon light than a spectre of a missed opportunity. That satisfaction has permeated nearly every aspect of the last 36 months for Sullivan. But it’s been three years and there’s really been no complaints.” ![]() “I don’t know how much of it is how professional we are or how much of a good time we have together, or how much of it was luck of the draw that our personalities meshed together, Sullivan says. Louis together that they have lived separately, and despite those close quarters and the constant exposure to one another, the two young founders have avoided major conflict. This fall was the first time since they took the leap to St. Part of that perfection is due to the tremendous chemistry and working relationship Sullivan and Marciniak have been able to maintain. I had such a perfect opportunity for it.” What would I have learned? What mistakes would I have had to go through? There’s so much more unknown in the path of a startup. “If I had left TrackBill to go to school, I would always be wondering what would have been. Perhaps that’s why, even in the toughest days of TrackBill’s adolescence, he never fretted over the path not taken. The constant tango with problem solving and product evolution is something he lives for. “While we have way more runway than we’ve had previously in our existence, it’s a never-ending battle.”Ī self-described workaholic, Sullivan loves that battle. “I’m a very optimistic person, so not to be pessimistic here, but you can’t really ever say that in a startup,” Sullivan says through a chuckle. There are rarely moments where founders allow themselves to think, “I’ve made it.” The startup world is, after all, a fickle one. On the financial side, they’ve nearly hit their goal of 15 percent revenue growth month over month from the previous year, and are looking toward offering an enterprise solution in 2016.īut even at 20, Sullivan is seasoned enough to avoid getting caught up in the success. They’ve also enhanced their keyword alert feature, allowing users to track any legislation or action pertaining to specific terms. The company, now covering all 50 states, recently underwent a front-end overhaul that made the service more user-friendly. The last three years have seen TrackBill grow up right alongside Sullivan. Maybe you can get that in a neighborhood of New York City, I don’t know. “You walk down the street and see the mailman you see every week. “I’m a regular at many restaurants and places around the city,” Sullivan says. But over his extended stay in the Gateway City, he’s come to appreciate familiarity as well. ![]() He’s a familiar face at Pickles Deli Downtown, his lunchtime loyalty even leading to a custom sandwich in his honor.Īfter living in seven different places in two decades, TrackBill’s co-founder is no stranger to new scenery. He recently moved out of the apartment he and Marciniak shared downtown and into a house in University City with his girlfriend. It’s something I could very well do in five years after TrackBill.” “Not that college doesn’t open a lot of doors and you (can) learn a lot of awesome things that I might not be learning right now, but it’s a very set path in my opinion. “There’s definitely no regrets,” he says looking back. ![]() Sullivan could defer his scholarship for a year, but if TrackBill’s early stages -the ones that determine the lifespan of new companies- dragged on, he would lose the opportunity. The other pointed into the unknowable and unpredictable abyss of technology startups and the city of St. One path led to Georgia Tech, where he had a full ride waiting. Sam Sullivan, Co-Founder and CTO of TrackBill Photo by Allie Layos courtesy of Arch Grants When Steven Marciniak came to him with the idea for TrackBill, a platform that allows users to search, track and report on legislation, he found himself at a crossroads. He was preparing for the next step in life, which meant leaving home and beginning adulthood. Three years ago, Sam Sullivan was a high school student in Pennsylvania working a food service job while taking college classes on the side. ![]()
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