Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

The StartupNation community received the very sad news today that a beloved member of our family passed away just before Christmas.

Vincent Wilcox, nickname iouone2, is someone I consider a friend, even though we never met in person. He has been one of the greatest contributors to the StartupNation community ... certainly in the number of posts (1,289), but much more importantly in the manner in which he brought a smile to all those who connected with him and the value that he gave to us all.

Vince recently brought inspiration to so many of us who followed his personally challenging decision to close one chapter of his life as he pursued his passion for music. He successfully landed the drummer gig with a band he was so impressed with, and he shared that journey with us in the community forum.

Vince sent a wedding gift to Suzanne and me, a hand-crafted earthborn vase that now graces an antique chest in our home. We have treasured the vase and even more the glad sincerity with which it was given. I am so honored that Vince will forever be a physical part of our home.

It`s perfectly fitting that Vince`s final post in our community ended with a "thumbs up" icon after telling a fellow entrepreneur that they just made an "Excellent point".

Vince`s wife Mai shared the sad news with us all today. Mai, we grieve along with you at the loss of such a beautiful man. But Vince`s legacy lives on with all of us here in the StartupNation community.

We miss you Vince. Thanks for inspiring us and for making us happier. You rock.

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Rich Sloan , Co-Founder, Chief Startupologist, StartupNation

I am shocked to hear the news... Vince was a friend of mine... My condolence goes out to his family... Although I never had the chance to meet him, he would email me and ask me questions whenever he needed help on something. Does anyone know what happened?
I am shocked... Mai, he will be missed and remembered... he brought so much to the forums.
GOD BLESS YOU



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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

Vince was a great guy.  Always very encouraging.  He had a tendency to write some really looooong posts which just goes to show how passionate he was for giving to the community.  He is missed.

such sad news.  Vince..... so giving, providing encouragement and support, kind and caring, willing to get on the phone to help you sort things through, always positive, sharing his gifts of music, mind and soul. 

Mai, we share your sorrow.  Thank you for sharing Vince with our little community family here at SuN.

This is unbelievable!! I`m thinking of that Todd Rundgren song, "I just want to bang on the drum all day." Vince and I were coming from a similar background, both of us having played in bands for a long time, then walked away from the pro music business. He was struggling with his startup business, and asked for some help rewriting some of the copy, and so we got a chance to talk via emial.

When he decided to abandon the business to return to his first love, music, I remember the involved discussion we all had about it, here on SuN. Much of the advice was to choose passion over money, and the heck with the consequences.

And so, off he went, to get back to the roots and play on stage. The cuts we heard (MP3 files) of the band, suggest they had a real shot at it. But more importantly, I remember his anxieties about waiting out the auditions, worrying that he might not be good enough, concerned he might be too old for a rock band, and his practicing constantly to get his "chops" back.

When he got the gig, he shared it all with us here in the community, and I think all of us were waiting to hear what happened next. I just assumed we`d hear about a recording contract, or some sort of concert rotation. But never in a million years would I have expected something as catastrophic as this!

Jeez Louise!

It goes to show ya, though, that life is just too short to waste a whole lot of time sitting on the fence, wondering if you should do this....or maybe do that instead, worrying about the risks, will it succeed, will it fail, or whatever else. We`re here, then we`re gone, and we`re not even sure when that`ll happen.

So it`s best to live each day as though it`s your last, and have no regrets. Or, to use an expression a lot of us would use in the music business, "Live fast, die young, and leave a beatiful corpse." :-) Living in bars and nightclubs, being on the road a lot, and spending so much time with night people, you get a real sense of the human condition.

It`s not an easy life, materially speaking, but I tell ya....it sure is an exciting one! Of all the possible ways to hit the end of the road, I`d like to think that in those last few moments, Vince was able to smile a bit and say, "Well hell, at least I made the right decision!"

I`m glad I had a chance to know him before he left. Kathy and I also have a couple of wood-shaving roses, one of which he sent as a gift, just because he was that kind of guy. They`re a rare treat, and we`ve often looked at the flowers and been reminded of how hard he`d worked to get Earthborn Treasures off the ground. Now, he leaves behind a lasting memory....in the two of us, who for the most part, were almost strangers. An amazing legacy....!