I've gotten some inquiries regarding my history/background. This is content thats going up on the final warriorheart.org site...but thought I'd just post it here.

If I were you, I dont think I'd want to read the whole thing...but here it is. Enjoy with a cocktail "-)

FOUNDERS BIOGRAPHY "you cant be invisible if you want to inspire." Steven Schimmel; Founder and President, Warrior Heart Foundation, 2006.

Steven Schimmel was a member of the founding business team and 13th employee of Google, Inc. He now splits his time as stay-home-dad, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the father of one exceptional son and lives in San Francisco, California.

The Long Story: Steve Schimmel was born on a cold winter's day in 1972 to a poverty-level family in suburban Chicago. His parents, older sister and dog shared a 600 sq ft 1 bedroom cottage for the first few years of his life. His dad started a one-man pest control company and worked up to middle and then upper middle class. Steven grew up killing roaches and trapping rats with his father while pursuing his academics. Inspired by his architect grandfather, who dabbled in the stock market, Steven started playing the market at 15 years old. By21, Steven had graduated Dean's List from Babson College, a business specialty college outside of Boston. He moved to San Francisco after graduation in 1994 to find the stark reality of an uninterested job market. After a period of trivial and unsuccessful undertakings, Steven took to the streets out of desperation to "make something happen" because as he said at the time "if my resume falls on the floor, nobody bothers to pick it up".

"It was September 1995. I had been in San Francisco just over a yearend had nothing to show for it. I remember walking around the streets of San Francisco and seeing two individuals that made an profound impression on me. One was a panhandler who simply sat on a corner and directly asked for money. The other was a man standing on a milk crate wearing a sandwich board that said "Repent". The end of the world is coming" and "Jesus saves". I was in a state of mind where I was open to anything at this point. The things that struck me were that, the first man had reached a point that his ego had been worn away and he was willing to simply, directly ask for what he wanted without beating around the bush. The second man believed so strongly in his convictions that he was willing to physically wear his message and present it to the world. By the end of the week, I had created a sandwich board expelling the virtues of my skills. One morning, I put on my best thrift store suit and boarded the 5am bus heading for the financial district, with my sandwich board under my arm. I stood outside the Bank of America world headquarters, put the two-sided sign over my head and began passing out resumes. I was there for 12 hours. I was passing out resumes as people rolled in to work, when they went out for lunch and as the left for home. This was one of the most humbling moments of my life. I stood out, exposed, bluntly asking for help and displaying my convictions. The response was amazing and really helped renew my faith in people. In the back of my head, I think I was expecting people to throw tomatoes at me (which my friend in New York said would have happened on Wall Street). Instead, many people took my resume and talked to me. A news crew even came. In the end, this seemingly crazy idea lead to me getting a job as an associate stock analyst covering high-tech companies in downtown San Francisco. In this job, I got to use my stock experience and education, but it did not take long to realize that I did not like analyzing companies, I really wanted to be involved with starting one.

In October of 1996, I left my job in order to write a business plan for an idea I had relating to the relatively new phenomenon known as the commercial Internet. I again, after a month or two, ran out of money and needed to look for a steady job again.

I found a job opening for an entry-level market research analyst at a small Internet company in San Francisco. Over a two-week period, I had left a message on every single voice mailbox I could get at that company. I was never able to get a human on the phone or get a callback. One day, I randomly entered an extension off the main number and heard the message "Mark Goldstein's pager number is....". I know from the website that Mark was the CEO of the company. What had started two weeks prior as a timid, pump myself up "you can do this" pep talk to a "somebody is going to talk to me, damn it!". When I got that pager number I called immediately. Soon after I got a call "who is this?" I explained that I wanted his job but hadn't got a call back. He said that the reason nobody was there is that a few weeks earlier he had sold the company and its technology. He said he was downtown at a conference and to meet him at lunchtime. I ran over and he preceded to tell me that he was a serial entrepreneur that would be starting another business at some point soon and to stay in touch...He emphasized that he was impressed that I was sitting across from him given the situation.

Time passed and Mark had yet to start his new company, and I was flat broke. I went to him yet again and asked for help. He simply picked up the phone and called a Venture Capitalist friend of his. The next day I was at breakfast with a VC. Two days later I was working as a full-time consultant at Netscape Communications, one of the companies responsible for the commercial Internet taking off, doing financial business analysis.

It was here that I honed my skills relating to understating business models and became an expert in the Internet itself. I also proved my worth to the Netscape executives and build a reputation for myself there. In 1999, America Online purchased Netscape. Many executives left the company. One in particular was the Vice President of Business Development. He had decided to go to a very small company that was looking for venture funding so that its could afford to try and build a company out of some very good technology it had developed. The company had been incorporated by two Computer Science Ph.D. candidates at Stanford University a few months prior. It only had the two founders and some engineers working there. The Netscape VP joined the start-up in March of 1999 as employee 12 and hired me to help him build the business in May of 1999 as lucky number 13. That company got its first and only round of Venture Capital, $20 million, a month or two later. The company was a Search Engine company that had only a few hundred thousand searches performed on it per day by at most a million users per month, mostly academics. The company had no revenue at the time. That company, now widely recognized as Google is the world leader in search technology, brings in billions of dollars in revenue per quarter, aiding many millions of users all over the world find information on a daily basis. When Google went public in 2004, it was one of the most successful IPOs in history. I left shortly after IPO to pursue other interests.

My confidence and follow-through, along with the chances awarded me by individuals who saw something in me and believed enough to give me a "shot", took me from poor kid to successful businessman "retired" by32 years old.

At no point did I ever compromise my integrity. I do things that I can be proud of. My colleagues and I lived by the motto of "don't be evil". It's not a gimmick. It's a philosophy of doing what's right and letting the money follow. My personal motto is: "Do good. Have fun. Make money"

What do you want to do with your life...young retired guy? I aspire to inspire. To show my true nature in motivation of others. My foundation's mission is to "empower people to live their dreams" That's what I want to do...because I can. I believe that often all someone needs is a "chance". That's what I got and ran with it. I want to provide that chance. What someone sees as a "second chance" I often consider their "first genuine chance". This is what they need for their "bid break". As my sister reminded me when I was forming the foundation..."People make mistakes, but they are not their mistakes".

Why do you live a "fancy life" if you are such a good guy? I believe in living a "net positive" life. Do more good than harm. I am a capitalist. I love the freedom our system enables. Like anything, there are pros and cons to freedom. I live in a mansion much bigger than I need, especially now as a bachelor. But...it was built for President Teddy Roosevelt's cousin while he was President. I am caring for it for future generations. I could start a homeless shelter in there...but that's just not practical. So I live there. I have non-eco friendly super cars. I like them. They are the way I've rewarded myself for my monetary success. Money is not inherently evil. I encourage people to aspire to money. I did. Money buys freedom. Again, go for the net positive life. I helped start a successful company that affects the lives of many people. In our system, that means I get to make money. I feel that often people who have problems with money or are jealous of luxury goods are expressing their own insecurities or self-doubt. I believe that anything is possible. Look at me. If I can do it, with hard work and determination...anyone can. Doing good and making money are not mutually exclusive concepts. Get over it.

Who inspired you in your formative stages? My Grandparents. Grandma for unconditional love. Grandpa for integrity and limitless possibilities. Them together for showing me how to love.

Who inspired you today? My 3½ year old son. He inspires me every day. He makes me want to be a better human.

What's with the tattoo? Its Rafael's angel, from his Renaissance painting Madonna of the Sistine. I wanted to get it on the bottom of my foot of all places while in Europe studying abroad in college. I have always had an attraction to this image. I wanted it hidden because I knew I wanted to go into business and didn't want it effecting people's impression of me. I didn't want to be prejudged. I didn't get it...and now I don't have to be concerned about such things. Today, it's a simple of strength, transition, and renewed mission. I got it right after my wife left me. Over time, it will be soften to strength and mission, but remain just as potent. I can't remember not having it. My thanks to Tom Renshaw in Clawson MI for his inspired work and actually getting me in to see him.

What if your son comes home one day and says he wants a tattoo? I'd say that when he's 34, if he wife leaves him and turns his life upside down...he can get one too ;-)

How tall are you? I'm 5'5'', but hopeful.

Why the Gumball 3000? Why not? I met a fantastic entrepreneurial individual with a Warrior Heart to run it with me. It's a great promotional event to bring awareness for the foundation. It definitely fits into my "Do good. Have fun. Make money" philosophy. It will be a time of my life, create amazing memories, generate great stories, create and solidify friendships and make great contacts for the foundation. I'm not a martyr, just a guy on a mission...or as I like to say: "I'm an angel, not a saint".