In 1996, my wife—then my fiancé—and I were living in Vermont, where we had graduated college several years before. Originally from Columbus, Montana, I was looking for a way home. I had been raised on a ranch about 100 miles east of Bozeman, which my family had homesteaded and worked for five generations. My connection to Montana ran deep, and I felt a strong calling to come home.

The problem was, there were very few jobs available in Montana at that time. I was dissatisfied with my work selling institutional research to money managers and traders because I felt disconnected both from a tangible product and from the culture of the customers I served. A job in manufacturing and creating a company had always been a strong interest.