We were recounting high school stories with friend over Sunday supper and my husband commented “It must have been difficult being the third wheel on the loser squad”. This is a very poignant assessment from the man I’ve been with for 13 years. As it was for many, high school wasn’t great for me. Even saying I was known in high school is a stretch. I have older brothers who were very popular, so I get the concept and the qualifications. The glow from their high school coolness did not extend to me.

Let’s put this into perspective, so you don’t think I’m just bemoaning a “normal” awkward childhood. At 15 I was REALLY tall (ok, still am) and I was built like a 2 x 4 board, hugely a jock, geeky smart, with enormous coke bottom bottle glasses (thank you lasik) and yes, gasp, braces. I ate lunch alone most days, wasn’t invited to ANY parties and was too geeky even to be in the geek clubs. I had a scant few friends and fewer dates. I had been hanging out with Linda Quinn, Andrea Kelly and Wendy Weeks since kindergarten. Wendy found a boyfriend in high school, so she left our merry band – and Linda and Andrea were always close as they shared a love for Steve Perry of Journey and stalked him regularly.

Not that this jaunt down memory lane hasn’t been fantastic, but let’s cut to the chase. I finally escaped high school to UCSD where I studied engineering and got my degree in economics. I moved back to the bay area to be in high tech. After 12 years of channels, sales and marketing roles, I started Amazon Consulting and rest is written in the history of our growing company.

Last week Inc Magazine listed 5,000 of the fastest growing companies in America. Thanks to the great team and excellent clients we have Amazon Consulting is number 1,050. Not bad for the third wheel of the loser squad.