Andrew White
(Posted on Monday, August 29, 2022)
Andrew White’s father was in state politics in Texas, starting when Andrew was six months old. His dad made it all the way to being Governor of Texas, before losing an election when Andrew was fourteen. But from an early age, Andrew was more interested in business than politics. He remembers taking The Wall Street Journal from the Governor’s mansion with him to read in junior high school.
Early in his career, Andrew got involved with several small business opportunities in Dallas and Houston. None of them took off, but he learned firsthand how to structure deals and work with investors.
Even when he met with failures, Andrew still had confidence that he would find a way to make something work. As he was looking for his next adventure, he met his future wife. At their wedding, he told everyone he was “self-unemployed,” which was a funny way of saying he was working for himself and not making any money.
Andrew eventually created separate home warranty and repair businesses. After surviving the housing market crash, he eventually sold both to a large energy services company for a life-changing sum. He had wanted to make enough money to live his own life and support his kids’ modest hobbies while not being in corporate middle management. He had done far better than that.
If he had known in the beginning how long the odds of success were, Andrew isn’t sure he would have started the business. He’s glad that he didn’t know.