I often joke about my career path: “I used to build spacecraft, and now I build websites.”
To some, that might sound like working backwards, but for me, the transition from a decade-long career in aerospace to disrupting the movie theater industry has been the most fulfilling mission of my life.
My journey from a top-tier engineer at Lockheed Martin to an accidental movie theater owner is a story about finding your drive and taking control of your own destiny.
Building Spacecrafts
I started my career working in aerospace, which included stints at two different national laboratories and Lockheed Martin.
Initially, the work was exhilarating. I found myself in a “little startup inside of Lockheed,” a small, nimble team of three working on a groundbreaking project.
It was insane and super fun. Our team developed a new way to estimate fuel on board spacecraft, extending the life of satellites by an average of two and a half years.
We got so many awards, it was insane. That was awesome. I loved that.
The Breaking Point
But not all of my corporate life felt like a fast-moving startup.
I was eventually moved to a massive government project with 240 engineers. I brought the same innovative mindset, proposing new ways to save costs and reduce risk, only to be met with a bureaucratic brick wall. They were just like, “Go back to your cubicle and do what we told you to do.”
That was the moment everything changed. I remember that day clearly. I was like, “Whoa, this is not for me. I need to go somewhere else.” I wanted to be in a place where I could have a real impact.
The Accidental Theater
That “somewhere else” came from an unexpected place. The five-screen movie theater in my small hometown near Yosemite National Park, a place I loved as a kid, had abruptly closed. My childhood friends called me with an idea. They said, “We should save the theater.”
My first reaction was pure logic: “Oh my goodness, that is such a terrible idea. It’s a failing business. Why would we try to save this failing business?” But then my friends pitched the hook: a subscription model. It was a brilliant idea that could de-risk the venture by getting people to sign up before we pulled the trigger. I was in. So I quit my job, moved back to my hometown, and faced a new question: “How in the world do you run a movie theater?”
Conclusion
For me, the leap from the structured world of aerospace to the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship wasn’t a step back but a leap forward. If you have drive, it’s amazing to be in the driver’s seat and to be able to actually be in control of your own destiny.
But successfully saving the theater was just the first chapter. The real challenge—taking on the entire movie industry—was yet to come.
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