I graduated at twenty. Started my first company at twenty-one. It failed spectacularly within eight months. The family group chat had been brutal then, too.

Dad: Maybe it’s time to think about grad school. Get an MBA. Something practical.

Marcus: I can ask around about entry-level positions if you want to get serious about your career.

Mom: There’s no shame in working for an established company, honey.

I didn’t tell them about the second company. Or the third.

And I certainly didn’t tell them about the fourth one: Meridian Technologies.

I started Meridian in my studio apartment with $15,000 in savings and a breakthrough algorithm for supply chain optimization that I’d been developing since my sophomore year. I didn’t tell them when we landed our first client, a mid-sized logistics company desperate enough to try anything to shave costs. I didn’t tell them when that client’s efficiency improved by 34% in the first quarter.

I didn’t tell them when Forbes called for an interview. I didn’t tell them when we closed our Series A funding at $12 million.