Jeff Blumer:  

After being in business for about 22 years, I returned to college to finish my BA in Mathematical Disciplines. (Math!? Yep. I really disliked math in High School, but I began to find it fun, and developed a passion for it while attending Junior College!). I thought that perhaps I'd make a good teacher because of my new-found attitude toward math. Besides, it didn't hurt knowing more about it, being in business, and having the acumen for architecture - which was my 1st major. But, immediately after graduating from NVC, I was driven to get into business, and blended what I loved (music), with business. I just dove in, with no conception of failure. I asked my brother to be my partner, and the store just kept on growing. After buying John out in '84, and surviving a couple of recessions, I thought I'd look for new challenges. So, I got back into college, took some advanced courses and transferred to UC Davis. I took a few classes each quarter, and learned a bit more about Math, number theory, and crazy stuff like that. But most of what I use now is related to algebraic functions and statistical analysis, trend theory, etc. I commuted about 3 times a week from Napa - usually in the morning - and returned by mid-morning to work a full 10-12 hour day in my business, get home to do homework until I dropped. Eventually, as we were e...Expand for more