When I look at skills to stay ahead of the curve for the next 10, 20 years, I really think a lot about leadership. I think that is the one thing that if you’re really good at, you can get anywhere.

When I began my conversation with Chafic Kazoun, I was not at all prepared for what was to come.

All I knew about Chafic were the things you would put on a resume. I knew he was a very prolific and intelligent angel Investor and entrepreneur, being the co-founder and CEO of B-Line Medical, as well as a gifted coder.

I had prepared all sorts of tech questions and the like, but when we began talking, I threw them all out. Chafic’s story is far more than your basic cut-and-dry entrepreneur. His upbringing in Beirut and approach to learning made our conversation much more intriguing than I could have hoped for.

• Chafic does a summary of his life so far, including growing up in the US and Lebanon
• How he started computer programming at age 8 when there were very few computers where he grew up
• What changes he would make to his career if he could
• Friends and relationships are the most important thing
• Attended 4 different high schools, over 14 schools in total
• Growing up, grades were less important thank experiences
• School provides foundational knowledge and discipline
• How he’s change the education system if he could
• In high school, going to work after class while helicopters strafed a building nearby
• Setting goals and writing things down in a notebook
• Learning from your mistakes
• Defining success

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Chafic Kazoun on LinkedIn, on Twitter
O’Reilly publishing page
B-Line Medical
Laerdal Medical
BASIC; Beginners’ All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
Logo programming language
YPO
EO
Beirut
Lebanon civil war
Professor Frances X. Frei

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