Hi. I’m Lawrence, and I guess you could say I’m addicted to start-up life. In 1996, I started my first company, and since then, I have started (and exited) four more. Maybe it’s the “anything is possible” mindset, or maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment. 🤷🏻 Want to know more about me and my start-up life? Keep reading.
I sold my last company in January 2024. I thought I’d take a breath, maybe even enjoy the quiet for a minute. But later that year, I kept noticing the same thing in completely different places: in a stadium, in a small music venue, even scrolling through clips late at night.
A moment happens. Someone makes a play, hits a note, lands a joke, delivers a performance that makes you feel something. And fans do what fans have always done …they celebrate it. They post it. They share it. They rally other people around it.
But the one thing you can’t do in that moment is the most human thing: reach the person who created it and say, “That meant something to me,” in a way that actually supports them.
Somehow, the emotion travels everywhere, except back to the person who earned it.
That disconnect started bothering me. The platforms get paid. Organizations get paid. Managers get paid. And aside from the 1%, everyone around the moment seems to benefit, except the creator and the fan who carried it.
That question became my problem to solve and was the genesis of Fanbravo.
Fanbravo is built on a straightforward idea: let fans be part of the story. Not just as spectators, but as participants. Fans already capture the moments. Fans already spread the moments. What if those moments could also become direct support for the athlete, musician, performer, or creator behind them?
Instead of waiting for creators to do more, Fanbravo lets fans do what they already want to do: share the moment, celebrate it, and support the person who made it happen. It turns the most natural impulse in sports and entertainment … appreciation … into something tangible and real.
I think the next chapter of the creator world will look less like “content factories” and more like fan communities: people showing up for the people who inspire them.
That’s Fanbravo: A social platform where fans can directly support and build communities around the athletes, entertainers, and creators they cheer for.
For more information, please email us at info@fanbravo.com.
Start-up #4 Trivie
From 2011 to January 2024, I was the chief executive officer, chairman, and co-founder of Trivie®, an AI platform for workforce learning, upskilling, and memory retention. Great people and great customers such as Disney, General Motors, and McDonald's contributed to our success — and I am honored to have been a part of it.
In January 2024, Trivie was acquired by Quantum5 Technologies, a leading technology platform for the automotive industry.
In 2021, Trivie was named one of the Best Products of the Year and Best Advance in Learning Management Technology by eLearning Magazine. Trivie also received the Gold Award from The Brandon Hall Group for Best Use of Games for Learning in 2023. In 2022, Trivie won the Innovations in Talent and Workforce award by DCEO Magazine. Trivie’s consumer app, Battle of Wits, was one of the most popular apps in the world, ranking as the No. 1 game on the Apple App Store®.
Start-up #3 - Brainceuticals
In 2007, I had a traumatic brain injury, and during my recovery, I read and listened to everything I could get my hands on regarding the brain — how to heal it, how to strengthen it, how to grow it, and how to nourish it. As I wondered what I could do to heal myself, it occurred to me that, since the body needs nutrition to become healthier and stronger, the brain probably does, too.
So, I compiled and started taking a potent blend of vitamins and herbs that my research indicated would assist in the healing process and make my brain stronger. This turned out to be critical to my recovery — and the start of company #3, Brainceuticals.
In early 2011, Brainceuticals was acquired by Onnit Labs and was repurposed as Alpha Brain® - becoming the #1 brain supplement in the world.
Start-up #2 - Stampede Beer
Well, I used to really like beer (I also worked for Anheuser-Busch Corporate as my first job out of college). So, after start-up #1 was acquired, I started a micro-brewing company, Stampede. Stampede was the first and only alcoholic beverage to receive United States government approval for a vitamin formulation. No, really. Look it up - we even made Forbes Magazine on the subject.
After securing distribution in 17 states and hanging with celebrities and athletes, I decided to sell Stampede and move on to greener pastures. Oh, that's also about the time when the brain thing happened.
In 1996, I started my first company, a door-to-door computer repair company called Fixx My PC (think Geek Squad @Best Buy). I came up with the idea because my computer was constantly breaking, and I had difficulty finding someone to fix it. We quickly became very popular and started raising capital to fuel our growth.
After 18 months or so, we changed our name to Service 911.com and started providing on-site computer repair throughout Texas and telephone and desktop support nationally. Then things started to heat up!
In late 1998, we raised another $14 million and rebranded as Attenza - an enterprise software company for knowledge and service management. Our customer list also grew with companies like Dell, McKesson, American Express, and others. We also acquired a few companies; before you knew it, we had almost 300 employees.
In late 1999, we hired Chase Bank to take us public. We then did the Wall Street road show, completed our audits, and finalized our S-1. Our plan was to do our IPO in the Spring of 2000, but then the dot-com bubble popped.
At about the same time, Chase Bank had financial trouble and was acquired by JP Morgan. Obviously, we were not going to be a public company, and we had to tighten our belts, batten down the hatches, or whatever expression you want to use for a time in history when companies were being sucked into the black hole of insolvency.
Fortunately, after 12 months, we were able to make the appropriate personnel adjustments, get the company profitable, and partner with another company so we could continue as a going concern. Once again, we rebranded, this time as Skywire.
The closing credits read that it all worked out. Skywire was acquired in 2008 for over $200 million by Oracle®, and everyone rode off into the sunset with a smile.
Personally, I am happily married to an amazing woman, have three kick-ass kids, play a little guitar, and love Metallica and KISS.
In 1989, I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma at Norman. I was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and an NCAA powerlifting champion. In 2018, I started powerlifting again and set a few state records. Most recently, in August of 2024.
On the cerebral side, I’ve authored two books: The Professional’s Guide to Fitness (Taylor Trade Publishing) and Fat Daddy/FitDaddy (Rowman Littlefield Publishing).
I have received several awards and all that jazz, but you have probably read enough about me by now…😉
Cheers!
