Back in 2015 or so, I started gathering thoughts on the startup intended to build. As I look back, I see that I still have the same core values, driven by core experiences. We become truer versions of ourselves as we’re able to discover who we are. My quest for efficient systems only grows.

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I often get questions around why I would want to start a company focused on Human Resources.

This post is my answer to that question.

The best place to start is back in late August of 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, my hometown. Our house had been flooded by the ensuing levee breaches.

After several days huddled in a hotel in Alexandria, Louisiana, my family and I relocated to Palo Alto once we knew returning anytime soon wasn't an option. Shortly after arriving in California to regroup with our family, I enrolled in Gunn High School. It meant hitting the restart button on junior year.

Being in school gave me the stability I needed, even if the classes were on a different curriculum and Id be playing catch-up for a while. It gave me a sense of normalcy and began steering me in the right direction.

Behind the scenes, a massive effort had been made to ease the transition. The usual red tape surrounding school enrollments everything from residency concerns to proving immunizations was pushed aside in the interest of doing what others thought was right.

About a week after we landed in Palo Alto, the local paper wrote a story about some of the efforts of local government to welcome people with open arms who had been impacted by Katrina. My family, having directly benefitted, offered to be interviewed.

Every couple of years Ill come back to that story. Each time, I'll read it and discover something new.

Now, why bring up that story? Im getting there..

While attending an HR conference a few weeks back, I began chatting with the person next to me and eventually led to my story as a Katrina kid. Though I skipped a beat when the story shifted her family had also opened up their home after the storm to evacuees.

Along with that, her son had also participated in rebuilding trips. It reminded me of the great generosity that was mentioned in that article. You try not to feel ferklempt in the middle of a conference, but moments like that will do it.

Later that day, after reading the article and reflecting on that conversation it helped me understand why I’m inclined to build a company focused on HR.

When a number of people, working behind the scenes, removed the red tape in the interest of doing what they felt was right at a time when my family and I needed it most  it helped us to get back on our feet. It helped me rebound and become the person that I am.

And, when I look at HR, I see it a bit differently than the standard model that tangles itself in red tape. Ive never lost sight of thinking of the human component of any bureaucratic system or process.

(You may have even heard me say that my dream job after a successful startup is to become the head of the DMV and make it an enjoyable experience).

I see HR at the heart of the organization however scrappy or structured it may be. And when I talk to others working in HR, whether they chose it intentionally or stumbled into it, I consistently hear that they stayed because they enjoy helping people, not because they enjoy creating bureaucracy.

Sometimes, we get caught up in the red tape. Though that takes a back seat to doing the right thing.