Pat financed his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University as a partner in a used-car dealership in Orem, Utah. That entrepreneurial experience would motivate his interest in startups within a few years after graduation.

He started his career in field operations with the Chevrolet Division of General Motors. Working closely with dozens of successful car dealers in the Western United States was a great experience in understanding how a capital-intensive business operates in a franchise environment.

After 8 years with GM and learning from successful car dealers, Pat was ready to start another business. He launched an invention and new-use product in the lawn and garden industry. The business needed a manufacturing operation as well as an automated production and packaging line that had never been built. Pat, as president, and partners raised $3.5 million under Regulation D offerings and built a successful plant, broad product offering, and distribution network. Biomat products appeared on QVC, in Wal-Mart and Kmart, and enjoyed success as a fundraising product in schools and other not-for-profit enterprises.

Another start-up came later in the hobby industry. Pat purchased a small startup marketing company that held rights to a distribution area for racing memorabilia as NASCAR arrived at national prominence as a sport in the late 1990’s. This business both struggled and benefited as licensing entities and distributors dealt with the collision between the growth of the Internet and stand-alone small retailers. Eventually, the business pivoted exclusively to the Internet with the help of a Kansas City private company.