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Perhaps all you need to know about Shaun Wolfe to understand you are dealing with someone special is that at age 12 he started his first business.

“The neighborhood kids wanted to earn some money, but were too shy to ask if they could mow the lawns and wash the cars for the people in our community. I would find them jobs for $5/hour and they would give me my $2 cut. For you business majors, they call that overhead,” Shaun explained. “It was actually quite easy; I guess I could overcome my reservations to get out of the work.”

What do you call a person who has started three companies (in addition to his dabbling in lawn care and auto detailing), is on the board of directors for another startup, and has been the CEO of two other organizations? Overachiever? Possibly. Good at his job? Certainly. Startup junkie? You make the call.

“I would say that my startup junkie days are waning,” said Shaun, now the President and CEO of TangoWire, an online social networking site dealing predominantly with specialized markets like military and single parent clientele; a company with over 3 million members and 70 million page views a month. “I spent 12 years becoming the CEO of an 800 person company, which is quite a ways from a startup. For me, whether it’s a startup, or an established company, it matters more whether I am being challenged and feel like I can make a real difference.”

To get a glimpse of what drives him, we need to once again jump back in time - twenty years or so, to the early days of his college career. It takes a certain kind of person to transfer from UW and its big city feel to Western tucked up next to the border, but Shaun Wolfe did just that to pursue a degree in both business and computer science; a major the larger university didn’t have the flexibility to offer at the time (and a discipline many of us know today as MIS). “I came to Western with a very clear understanding of what I wanted to do,” said Shaun. “I wanted to bridge the gap between business people and the technology geeks that existed in the 80’s.”

And as fate would have it, when he finished college he already had his foot in the door. “My roommate needed a job badly, so I kept him company when he went to the job center in Old Main. As I was waiting for him, I saw a flier on the bulletin board for a position at a local computer software company (DIS Corporation). One of the requirements was strong typing skills – which I had because I’d taken a typing course in high school – which my friends teased me about relentlessly.  Remember, back then, you only typed on typewriters; but it got me the job.”
                             
The coming years saw Shaun move his career forward  at WRQ, a company that built software for accessing and integrating legacy applications, a company three out of four Global 500 companies relied on; and a company where Shaun held several key management, marketing and executive positions…eventually becoming their CEO. “I believe they helped make me who I am today, professionally; and I made a real mark on what that company was as well. I think ultimately, that’s real success.”

“One of my greatest mentors along the way has been Doug Walker, one of the founders at WRQ,” Shaun added. “Our styles are completely different, but he taught me that confident humility goes farther than false modesty or bravado; we worked together and developed a strong working bond over many years.”

In the winter of 2007 Shaun was honored to return to Western and take the stage to deliver the commencement address to the winter graduates of WWU; he shared with them an idea. If you gravitate toward people you admire, and if you find a way to add value to them, they will in turn share their wisdom - giving you the opportunity to see the world from on top of higher shoulders.

 “I hope Western alums remember what the university meant to them when they were students here,” Shaun concluded. “I hope they can find a way to give back, to add value to a new generation, and help students however they can…when I think about it, some of my best experiences and favorite Western memories have happened since I graduated.”

Shaun Wolfe serves on the Dean’s Board of Advisors for the College of Business & Economics and Advisory Board for the Center for Excellence in Management Education; he also continues to fund a scholarship to help students along their path. He lives in Issaquah with his wife, Darcie, and four sons.

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