Profile by william scheetz

T

he year was 2000. In the eyes of the investor, the American economy seemed invincible.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 11,722, the peak since it’s opening in 1885. The NASDAQ, comprised primarily of technology companies, exceeded 5,040, another high for Wall Street. Stock prices of internet companies are rapidly increasing and plans of taking start-up companies public are part of the popular culture. Internet based businesses are the buzz. These start-ups prioritize rapid growth over profits. The American dream of starting a company and getting rich is more attainable than ever.

The dot-com bubble is peaking, and who better to take advantage of the need for staffing technology special-

Active Passion How to live off the front

ists, but a high tech staffing company such as Racing Mouse. In 2000, Racing Mouse had grown to a $25 million organization. Then in 2001, this economic arrogance proved disastrous for many Americans. The Dow Jones dropped almost 40% and fell to 7,286. The NASDAQ crashed to 1,108.

The “bubble” burst. The collapse caused companies and investors to lose billions of dollars. Internet giants like Cisco and Amazon saw 85% losses in their stock value. Even Silicon

Valley icon, Pacific Gas and Electric, failed completely and filed for bankruptcy.

The company Andrew Adelman was working for failed too.

Andrew had joined Racing Mouse as the Director of Staffing. “Our largest clients couldn’t afford to pay us back, so we went down with them,” and with that, Andrew joined the growing legions of the unemployed. ndrew Adelman’s situation was not unique. Adleman was just one of the hundreds of thousands who lost their job during the “bust”.

But what is interesting is how Andrew made a winning hand out of the cards he was dealt. Apparently for Adelman, adversity has a very short window. Faced with unemployment, Andrew’s next steps proved to be pivotal to his success today. Andrew saw value in Racing Mouse. He saw enough value in it that he found a way to buy some of the company assets in order to rebuild an organization.

“I took some of the core em-

A

By Will Scheetz

“At some point I realized that I’d rather ride around with my logo on rather than someone elses, so I decided to sponsor it.” ployees of the old company, and from those ashes we became CoreTechs.”

But that wasn’t enough.

Adelman had always been a standout in athletics and physical activity has always been a part of his life. How would he balance starting a new company and maintain his personal fitness?

He would start another endeavour, a bike racing team. “At some point I realized that I’d rather ride around with my logo on rather than someone elses, so I decided to sponsor it” [CoreTechs Cycling Team]. And, just as the wheels of a bicycle are constantly moving, Andrew Adelman is constantly working, whether it be to further his business venture, or pursue

his passion for physical activity. ndrew was born and raised in Southern California. His father characterizes him as an enterprising business man, even from a young age “When it was his turn to lose his last tooth, he wrote a letter to the tooth fairy asking for more money since it was the last tooth he was ever going to lose.”

He was a child who always loved athletics.

“Playing sports allowed Andrew to learn how to lose as well as learn how to win. It allowed him to see how much work went into winning. It allowed him to understand what it was like to be part of a team

A

and how to contribute accordingly to a common goal,” says his father Joel Adelman. As a child, Andrew played competitive basketball through high school. After high school, Andrew was accepted to UC Santa Barbara where he received his degree in Political Science. Post graduating from UCSB, Andrew joined the Marine Corps hoping for “adventure, fun, and an active lifestyle. I’m still living it,” Adelman says. He completed officers training and learned valuable skills in leadership. Andrew began working for the company, Racing Mouse, as the Director of Staffing. When the dot-com bubble burst and Racing Mouse failed, An-

drew’s entrepreneurial and competitive spirit took over and he started his journey to rebuild the company. Since starting CoreTechs, Andrew has expanded his company to include a consulting division that takes on projects, a programming division, and an office in Houston, Texas. Currently, CoreTechs is approaching sales volumes similar to its predecessor, Racing Mouse, in its hey day. Throughout his professional career, Andrew pursued personal goals as well. He swam, biked, and ran his way to the finish line in four IronMan competitions and “probably over 100 triathlons in total,” Andrew says. But he rarely talks about it, and is what his father would describe as a quiet com-

petitor. “He loves competition, but doesn’t like to talk too much about it,” said Mr. Adelman senior.

Andrew participates in these grueling activities not to show off, but to prove his ability to himself. Initially, Andrew enjoyed all three of the aspects of triathlons, but six years ago he experienced problems with his knee. This precluded him from running, but

didn’t stop him from doing what he loved. So to preserve his knee, Andrew turned to cycling.

But that wasn’t enough.

Andrew went on to start his own cycling team, and what better way to promote your own company than to have 40 riders sporting your kit complete with the CoreTechs logo. s I pull up to Andrew’s house, I slowly drive by a chicken coop full of hens, clucking and scratching the turf on the side of the winding driveway. After parking, I get out and sidestep a multitude of colorful children’s toys and bikes.

I am greeted by his nine year old daughter who is putting up some “spooky” Halloween decorations next to their chicken coop. “Hi!” she says. I

A

“Playing sports allowed Andrew to learn how to lose as well as how to win. It allowed him to see how much work went into winning. It allowed him to understand what it was like to be part of a team and how to contribute accordingly to a common goal.”

continue walking and I see Andrew’s seven year old twin boys trying to decide where to place a pumpkin on their porch.

“Is your dad around?”

I ask them. “Yes” they reply as they giggle and run inside to retrieve him. As I’m standing on the porch waiting for Andrew to come out, I look to my right and see a sleek white Specialized racing bike with blue accents. I can see it’s equipped with a carbon fiber frame, carbon fiber wheels and thin, slick racing tires, none of which are found at WalMart. Specialized, Storck, Steelman; these are of the names of the rides in Andrew’s collection. After looking at his arsenal, it is clear that Adelman has made a serious investment in

his sport. When Andrew answers the door, he immediately welcomes me and invites me into his home. We make small talk for a few minutes while he quickly finishes making himself a plate of leftovers, mostly vegetables. “Nobody likes them, but we all gotta eat em,” he says to me.

Andrew offers me some

too, but I decline having already eaten. Even though I have only met him one time before, he is already offering to share a meal with me.

When the microwave beeps, signaling his food is ready, he picks it up and we proceed outside where he is able to watch his kids and we begin the interview. very year, the CoreTechs cycling team hosts a barbecue to bring the riders and their families together to celebrate the team’s accomplishments.

This year, the party was hosted a couple of blocks away from my house, so after I finished work, I made my way down to the party. I arrived and was introduced to many

E

new people from different walks of life, all of them with two things in common: they loved biking and they rode for CoreTechs. I spoke with some of them about bikes, the Spectrum ride (a 60 mile ride occurring every Saturday), and some of the latest criteriums they had raced in. Ten minutes later, the loud talking of the party quickly died down to a soft murmur and then silence.

Andrew, standing up, had gathered everyones attention. He spoke about how proud he was of his cycling team’s accomplishments and how his team was made up of a “good group of guys.” When his speech was over, Andrew sat back down and the party resumed and I went back to talking to more CoreTechs team members. However, what Andrew had said stuck with me. He wanted his team to be winners, but above all he was proud that they were good cyclists, good teammates, and good friends. In a sport where $10,000 for a bike is common, arrogance and big egos reign supreme. Andrew wanted his team to be passionate, fast, and above all good people.

W

hile speaking with Andrew about his plans for the future, he made it clear that he doesn’t believe in five year plans, as that is “too far into the future.” Instead, Andrew likes to look three years ahead, which can perhaps be attributed to his always on the move attitude. For his company, he hopes to double his client list from twelve to twenty four major clients, something that he thinks is very achievable. As for the cycling team, Andrew wants to fine tune the relations between the teammates and to create a “team within the team” of the most skilled riders. By adding this more professional aspect,

he hopes to have more of the team attending the different race venues, to be a formidable competitor, and to get more CoreTechs team members on the podium. Andrew will never stop working. It is apparent in his personality that his work ethic is impeccable and that he will only be comfortable when he is leading. And as for leading his cycling team, “It takes some time, but it’s fun time. So I enjoy it.”