In the beginning
I have always believed that origin stories are an important part of who we are. Your origins as an individual, and what that has taught you, are imprinted on any organization that you lead.
Blake Trueblood and I - co-founders of Invenio - come from strikingly similar beginnings. We were born in the same Midwestern town about a decade apart. We are both grandsons of coal miners and factory workers. And we have both been molded by immensely important mentors during our legal careers. Put simply, the grit of a blue collar heritage, the example of true leadership we received from mentors, and a strong sense of curiosity are the foundations of our collaboration.
Our grandparents had limited formal schooling, and struggled to bring each of their families to the edge of the middle class. Our own parents made the jump into the middle class during our lifetimes. Our own generation was the first in each family to have any regular college education. Becoming lawyers - tackling complex problems and advocating for people - fulfilled both our own dreams, but also those of generations before us who taught us to show up early, stay late, and always take pride in your work.
Each of us has been immensely fortunate to be taught about advocacy by talented trial lawyers and generational civil rights leaders. These lessons gave us the tools to organize a cause, develop a case, show empathy towards a client, and use the courtroom and the public policy arena to make meaningful change. We are also grateful for the chance to learn from innovative business leaders in our many years as General Counsel of fast-growing organizations.
Our professional origins have sharpened our intellectual curiosity and made us tenacious as problem solvers. Not many people can say this, but each job we’ve had has been a building block for the next one. All of them have been net positives in our development as a lawyers and leaders. We are here because a lot of great people took the time to be teachers and let us stand on their shoulders to see what was ahead. We hope to make them proud.