Say Hello to Scott

Scott is 42 year old dad of two. He lives in the suburbs with his wife Katie and works for a Hi-tech firm across town. He is smart, friendly and spent a lot of time early in his career climbing the corporate ladder. He is now well placed in his firm. Katie quit her job when they had their first child Maddie. Now, Maddie is seven and Jaxon is four. He loves his family and endures the daily grind at work only to be a good provider. He often wonders if he is really doing a good job at that. He takes pride in his possessions.  His Acura Minivan, His mid-sized well decorated home in a great school district, his giant screen TV, latest tech gadgets are all sources of pride for him. He wishes to provide his kids with the best gear so they never feel less than anyone in the neighborhood. Katie talks about keeping the kids away from "materialistic rat race". Scott simply nods his head but in his heart, he disagrees with her. He remembers how he felt when every kid in the block had a watch or a cool toy and his parents denied it to him even though they could afford it. They probably had a reason just like Katie's but it made Scott hungrier for cool gear.

Katie got quite upset when Maddie asked Santa for an Ipod last Christmas and Scott/Santa cheerfully obliged - that too with two Ipods, to make sure Jaxon wasn't left out. She could never understand what a four year old could do with an Ipod. To Scott, it was just a few hundred dollars well spent to see the sparkle in his daughter's eyes. He was after all reliving his childhood through them. He felt that it was unfair to “force” the kids to live in a well-off neighborhood to get the benefit of a good school district and then not provide them with competitive “equipment” which they could easily afford. He had learnt over the years not to argue with Katie though.

Lately, Scott has been thinking a lot about financial security for his family. He is aware of Katie's efforts to find a job over the past 2 years. He also knows in his heart that for a 40 year old woman to enter work force after seven years of break is next to impossible. He is researching good avenues to invest their nest egg.  He wants to ensure his family has something to lean on if he loses his job or if something were to happen to him. He keeps good health and is generally health conscious. He rides his bicycle every weekend and visits the gym quite regularly. But his sedentary job and frequent Happy hours with colleagues are beginning to take their toll. He has been acutely aware of his increasing waist size ever since he turned forty. Scott tries his best to look good and young. Other people’s perception of him and his family matter a lot to him. He works very hard to please his boss and colleagues at work. But he works even harder to look cool and trendy when he is out with his friends.

He takes his family out to one cool kid-friendly vacation every summer. He just wishes he could travel less to Disney and more to Cozumel and Vegas. He had a great time with his wife before they had kids. They traveled to exotic places and had done so many exciting things together. He wishes to connect back with that active and young Katie who loved to live every day to the fullest. He was not even aware of their different view-points on "overly materialistic outlook" as Katie calls it until a few years back. He tried to encourage Katie to come out of her routine and do something for herself. He tried giving her Spa gift certificates which she never used. He loves the fact that his wife takes such good care of the kids and him but he never wanted to marry Betty Crocker. He fell in love with the girl who was more active and fun loving than most guys he had seen. He is now determined to bring that Katie back.

To start his own venture is his big dream. He had been wishing and planning for a decade now. It is never the right time. He worked with a couple of friends several times on some business ideas. They would do some research and gather data and then never execute on it. Several times, he had started web development projects which start with a bang the first week or so and then slowly come to a grinding halt. It was always some project pressure at work or something he had to do for the family. He tells himself and others that he could never find a good idea or partner or seed money or time. Or that the economy isn’t strong enough for a new entrepreneur to start his venture. But in his heart he knows - He is just too worried about the risk of failure to take the leap. He sometimes tells himself that if Katie hadn’t quit her job, he could more confidently quit working and focus on setting up his own business.

He believes that if he is successful at setting up his own business, his kids would have a strong starting point in life. They would never need to work for someone else. A well developed successful business would be his gift to Maddie and Jaxon who would jointly manage this business after he retires.