07/27/2026
My dad shook a man's hand in the Middle East and it nearly cost him his job.
He'd made an agreement with a local leader, approved by the company he worked for. Later, the company got cold feet and wanted to renegotiate. My dad said no. He'd looked this man in the eye and given his word. As far as he was concerned, that was the contract, paperwork or not.
A senior executive was furious. There was a formal investigation into my father's conduct. When it was over, the investigators sided with him. The executive pushing to break the deal was the one found to be in the wrong.
I was a kid watching this happen from the outside, but it planted something in me that never moved: integrity isn't tested when it's convenient. It's tested when it costs you something.
I've built ApexFlow on that same bet. That doing right by people, even when it's slower or less profitable in the moment, is the only version of this business worth running. My dad didn't teach me that with a lecture. He taught me by nearly losing his job over a handshake.
I hope my kids are watching half as closely as I was.