A clear path, a thought I could not put down, and a friend's question in the ready room.

In the summer of 1991, aboard the USS Forrestal, we were flying Operation Provide Comfort in the eastern Mediterranean. The war was over. After the last recovery of the day I would climb back up to the flight deck to watch the light go orange over the water.

I had a clear path in front of me and a thought I could not put down: something was being built with networks and computers, and I wanted to be in the room. That night a friend asked if I was really going to trade the boat for a classroom in Pittsburgh. In 1992 I reported to Carnegie Mellon.

I had no company, no idea and no investors. I had a pull toward a kind of problem.

Summer 1991: Sunset on the Forrestal.