Welcome to Chapter 3
From Building a Business to Building What’s Next
Hi, I’m Gerald Stowers. For 30 years, my wife and I built two things side by side — a family and a software company.
In 2024, we sold that business, exactly 30 years to the month after starting it. What began as a small, mom-and-pop-style operation grew into a company with life-changing enterprise value. Over those three decades, we achieved 25 straight years of 15%+ year-over-year growth, weathering the dot-com bust, the global financial crisis, COVID, and everything in between.
It was a wild ride — challenging, rewarding, and absolutely life-defining.
💬 “We didn’t just build a business; we built a life around it.”
A Serial Entrepreneur at Heart
But like most entrepreneurs, I don’t think the story ever truly ends — it just evolves. I’ve always been a serial entrepreneur, curious about what’s possible and driven to build things that make an impact.
While Chapter 2 of my life was about growing one business and one family, Chapter 3 is about exploring what’s next — new ideas, new ventures, and new ways to create meaning without sacrificing balance or freedom.
Family Transitions: From Boardrooms to Dorm Rooms
At home, life is changing too. In 2025, our oldest son headed off to college, and our youngest will follow in just two years. After decades of raising a family and running a business, my wife and I are learning what it means to become empty nesters — to rediscover ourselves, our time, and our relationship.
💬 “Selling the business was a major transition — but watching your kids leave home is a whole different kind of change.”
What This Channel and Blog Are About
This space — and my new YouTube channel, Chapter 3 — is about navigating these transitions. It’s for people who’ve spent years building, achieving, and providing… and are now asking, what’s next?
Here, I’ll share lessons learned over 30 years as a CEO — not just how to grow a business, but how to grow toward an exit that gives you freedom, not burnout. I’ll also bring in friends, peers, and partners who’ve lived through similar journeys — people redefining success on their own terms.
And together with my wife, Nicole, I’ll share what we’re learning as new empty nesters — how we’re supporting our kids in college, staying positive, and turning this next phase into something exciting and meaningful.
Who This Is For
If you’re:
An entrepreneur building toward an exit
A parent stepping into the empty nest phase
Or simply someone ready to design your own next chapter
…then you’re in the right place.
Join Me in Chapter 3
Welcome to Chapter 3 — where success meets what comes next.
Subscribe, follow, and join the conversation as we navigate business, family, adventure, and life beyond the exit.