It’s a forceful question. Not one that allows you to spend time thinking of your hopes and dreams, but one that requires you to wake up and remember why you’re on the path you’re on. This question, frequently asked by my family, serves as a catalyst for my own innovation.

My Legacy.

Kostantinos (Kostas) Douzinas, my mother’s father, immigrated to the United States and started a shipping software company, Nautical Technology Corporation in the early 1980s. Likewise, the original Michael Veson started Veson Inc., a shipping software company, just years before. Both men were known for their staggering hard-working ability and their movement to the United States lit a spark for the future of our family. The companies did not reach the highest of levels, but what it did do was result in the meeting of my parents in a conference in Greece, each working for their fathers. A few years later, they married and soon co-founded Veson Nautical, taking the Veson from Veson Inc. and the Nautical from Nautical Corp. The company was similarly a shipping software company and the true “oldest child” in our just-beginning family.

Growing Up.

“I just want to be a regular guy, just like my Dad” – first-grade Mike Veson. That’s what I always responded when asked what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t understand the weight of what that response carried, but I was young. My parents founded the company just under two years before I was born in their small Boston apartment with my three-month-old older sister living with them. By the time I was born, we moved, and soon, they moved into an actual office-space.

While I treasured the time we had together, my parents had to leave for many days and nights of the year to grow the company. My parents were my heroes, though. In my eyes, they managed everything perfectly and we had no problems; they were this amazing team and an even better couple. My Dad managed the sales and coding for the company and my mom worked on financials, legal operations, and marketing. I knew I was expected to do great things because of them, but it scared me. I didn’t think I had the ability to live up to that perfect standard, nevermind the perfect standard that their parents left behind. I had to be an entrepreneur. I always looked up to my Dad because of his expertise in CS and Business, so I knew that would be my path, but how? How does someone just start a business?

The Breaking Point.

My life was on autopilot. I knew the direction it needed to go in, but I didn’t know how or what I needed to do to get there. I kept telling myself that I’d become an entrepreneur, that I’d emulate my parents. At a certain point, I was trying to manifest this thing into existence that I didn’t even understand. I needed that snap into reality and I finally got it: my parents got divorced. Suddenly, they became real people who faced struggles and it was no longer this magical journey to success that I always imagined. They were not perfect. While I was left heartbroken, it almost made me feel like I actually had a shot now. No more impossible standards. It woke me up.

My father was my biggest idol and him leaving the house meant I couldn’t get the lessons I thought would be taught to me. The divorce was hard, but it did somewhat force my mother to leave Veson Nautical and I got to see her much more at home. Despite the pain of divorce, she told me all about my father’s upbringing; how he worked for his Dad after school every day, trying his best to learn how to code in a world where that was not so easy. I learned how his parents weren’t around much as a kid and he was expected to perform at the highest level without any questions. She told me how his Dad was his biggest hero and he wanted to be just like him and working for his Dad was really just an excuse to see him.

I became conflicted after hearing this information because I’d gained this new perception from the divorce that my Dad was this villain, but the more I heard of his story, the more I still wanted to be just like him (professionally). 

Starting my Journey.

In 2020, I decided that I was done waiting around and I wanted to start doing something with my life. I didn’t want to hear that question anymore and be unsure; I wanted people to look at what I’ve done and know exactly what I was capable of in the future.

I went to my Dad and I asked if I could work for him. I don’t know if it was the nostalgia from his path, or something else, but he liked the idea. With a thoughtful look, he asked, “What can you do for me?” I delved deep into Veson Nautical, studying its functions, client interactions, and the evolving needs of the shipping industry. I found a very big gap in something that was missing with the company: a mobile application. So while I was in school, I started to research and develop some mobile applications, making sure to show my Dad every time so he could see my progress. Soon enough I was able to develop a strong and functional mobile application for my school that everyone started using and that finally caught my father’s eye.

I spent the next following years developing the Veson Nautical Mobile App with a team, learning a lot about what it takes to run a business and the hard work that goes along with it. And now, exactly twenty years later after my parents founded Veson Nautical in their two-person apartment, that app gets launched in Greece just a couple days from now as my father gives a speech celebrating the company. In twenty years, I envision my family standing beside me as I give a speech for my own technology company, a testament to the legacy and journey that brought me here.