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Get To Know RJ
Relationships & Values Are Everything
"Life is short, make it meaningful" is the motto we live by in the Garbowicz household. I'm a proud husband and father to an entire family of overachievers and adventurers instilled with a drive to make life meaningful and rewarding.
Meet The Fam
Who am I
I'm driven by Faith
My faith aspires me to leave the world better than I found it. I believe oppression, derived from greed and power, is the #1 source of evil in this world. It leads to war, poverty, and slavery. I also believe the Internet is the best tool to educate and lift the world from poverty and oppression.
This is what drives me to create awesome products and build amazing teams around missions that can improve the lives of millions of people.
I'm an Army Vet
After graduating from military school with honors and completing my first year of community college at the age of 16, I enlisted in the IL Army National Guard at the age of 17, serving my country as an Avionic Systems Repairer (35R) stationed at Midway Airport in Chicago. Serving our country gave me discipline, inspired my technology career, and showed me the importance of structure and communication. Most importantly, it gives me discounts on just about everything for the rest of my life 😉.
I'm a YouTube graduate (per se)
It was always my dream to build my family home with my own hands as my grandfather did for his family. In 2011, I used YouTube how-to videos to successfully gut and fully remodel, including a 500 sq ft addition, our first family home. Most notably, it was completed start to finish in four months.
I designed the remodel and hired an architect to draft the plans, then I acted as the contractor and project manager purchasing all materials and hiring subs to manage the labor of the more mundane tasks while completing other tasks with my own hands such as; demo, framing, window/door installs, flooring, plumbing, and more using YouTube as my guide.
In 2017, we decided to do it again for a much larger family home project after outgrowing our first home, repeating the same process.
I've also used YouTube to learn a variety of other business, finance, and software skills.
1st Home Remodel
Before & After
2nd Home Remodel
(update: After our home was destroyed in the 2024 hurricanes, it's currently getting rebuilt)
Before & After
I'm a World Traveler & Adventure Seeker
Having traveled to 41 states and 34 countries by the age of 40, my goal is to travel to all states and at least 100 countries before I leave this earth, completing at least one new adventure at each destination. Some countries I have visited more than once such as; Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, England, Columbia, and St Lucia. Plus, I have been to Puerto Rico a few times as well.
Next on our travel list is Ireland and Mexico (again) for 2024, with plans to visit Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia (Bora Bora), Ecuador (Galapagos Islands) and Alaska in the not-to-distant future.
Here are some of my favorite adventures and destinations...
I'm a Boat Captain
Having lived on the water since I moved to Florida from Chicago back in 2003, I have owned and operated a variety of boats. My family and I love to spend our weekends traveling via boat to gorgeous local beach destinations throughout Florida's west coast.
I'm an Outdoor Enthusiast
Ball sports and watersports are my passion, but I also enjoy hiking, biking, martial arts, snorkeling, swimming, and the occasional 5K charity runs. While I have from time to time found myself in a gym, I prefer to exercise outdoors.
I'm a Teacher
A passion of mine is giving back what I have learned through public speaking at a variety of events from tech conferences to startup events such as TechGrind, Startup Weekend, Ignite, and more. I also enjoy volunteering to mentor young startup founders and judging startup competitions.
I'm a Philantropist
My wife and I attend a variety of local charity events annually, giving our time and money to support our local community. My wife also serves on several non-profit boards and I proudly support her in every way I can. This can range from donating my time to help with fundraising events or technology needs, making introductions, or simply taking care of our children when she gives her time.
I've also made it a priority that all companies that I create give back to the communities they serve.
Hire RJ for consulting and speaking engagements
RJ can help grow your business and events as a strategy, innovation, and digital marketing expert
Starting a Business
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Formation Strategy
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Stock Strategy
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Biz Model Strategy
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Branding Strategy
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Fundraising Strategy
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Recruiting Strategy
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Comp Strategy
Product DevelopmEnt
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Project Planning
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UX Architecture
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Wireframing
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UX & Content Design
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Software Engineering
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DevOps, SysOps, SecOps
BIZ Dev & Scaling
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Partnership Strategy
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Integration Strategy
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Marketing Strategy
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Sales Strategy
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Automation Strategy
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Support Strategy
tech
trends
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User Experience
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Product Development
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AI
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Robotics
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Consumer Hardware
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Venture Capital
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Tech Economics
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