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fine if money is your only motivation. I just want to know what makes you tick.” Andrea uncrossed her arms.
    “I guess I just want to do something important. I want to do something meaningful. I want to help people through software. In a small way, the jellyfish startup gives people better access to a service most people couldn’t get before. Owning personal jellyfish wasn’t possible until these specialized tanks came on the market. So…yeah, I guess ideally I want to fill a niche where everyone is happy, the customers, the guys building the tanks and me.”
    “But do you like being a salesman? Why not work as a programmer or a designer?”
    “I wrote code for my day job, but, okay, yes—it’s really about money. I want to be independently wealthy. I don’t want to have to work again. And I want to be able to help my sister. She is chronically sick, and I want to be able to support her.”
    Andrea paused. She settled back into her chair and let the moment be. Then slowly, she turned to David. “There are much easier ways to get rich, David. The road to wealth is a well-beaten path. Go work on Wall Street for a few years. Get into real estate. Flip houses or become a broker for high-end properties. Why create a tech startup?”
    “Because it’s what I know,” said David. “It’s what I’m passionate about. Ever since I was a kid, I loved computers. I wanted to change the world. I wanted to change the way people use computers. The computerized age has brought so many efficiencies to our lives, but has left so many opportunities untouched. People think computers have changed the landscape of things for the better, but that’s only half of the story. Yes, it’s brought many outdated klutzy things up to date, but there are downsides. We now stare at screens instead of looking at each other at restaurants, and we think that’s acceptable behavior. We let anonymous services search and control our email and calendars without any concern about the future implications. The most popular email system in the world is run by one of the world’s largest ad agencies. Does nobody else find that disturbing? When the consequences of our actions are made clear, people will wonder how we got there. It happened slowly, one degree at a time. We won’t realize until it’s too late. This is a blessing and a curse, and…it’s an opportunity.”
    “So why jellyfish?”
    “They look cool?”
    Andrea laughed.
    “Well, it made sense at the time,” said David.
    Andrea’s phone started buzzing. “I’m sorry, I have to take this. It was really good meeting you. Leave me a business card. I think you might be on to something, but stop thinking so small. Follow your instincts, stop fooling around with the latest financial trends like passive income. That stuff is snake oil. People make more money teaching passive income techniques than through actual passive income methodologies. There is no way around the hard work of building a lasting business.” She waved him off and answered the phone. “Hello, this is Andrea.”
    David quietly left a card on her desk and snuck away to find Andrew.

Chapter 8
    P olice had blocked off the celebration areas the night before, but people started streaming into the streets at dawn. By breakfast, the crowds were in full force. There were flags and banners everywhere. People started cheering slogans that didn’t quite rhyme and barely made sense, like “Let’s go Mike, this time it’s right” and “Two more years, John’s our beard.” Election Day had begun.
    Shawn and his team had been working through the night on logistics. Though the morning had been going smoothly so far, he was in a sour mood and everyone knew it.
    “Sir, Congressman Jones from Minnesota has just arrived,” said Brandon Frank while staring intently at his iPad. “High winds made the landing pretty rough, though.” The Secret Service didn’t usually keep track of senators and congressmen, but for Election Day,