Sacramento Tech Mogul Didn't Let Education Setbacks Dampen Goals

As CEO of Favis Inc. as well as lead on numerous projects ranging from video games, to artificial intelligence and biomimetic robots (robots inspired by biology,) you would think Favis had it easy-going through higher education. Surprisingly, such was not the case. After leaving his first attempt at a university degree and spending a couple of semesters at a technical institute, Favis's life and career finally hit its stride. Although Favis ran a successful computer consulting firm for more than 11 years, his stint at Electronic Arts after graduating gave him that impetus to venture off as a tech entrepreneur and start his own software firm.

What's your job?

"I own a small software business located in the Sacramento area. The types of software we make run from mobile games to business solutions."

Parts of your job you enjoy?

"I work a with a lot of bright and intelligent people, watching them solve complex problems and collaborating with them is very rewarding."

What was your education like?

"I struggled with math in college at CSUS. I took calculus four times and failed it each time. I dropped out because I couldn't pass calculus and switched to ITT Technical Institute in Rancho Cordova. I graduated from there with a bachelor and associates degree, which helped land me my first job at Electronic Arts."

Has your education helped you?

"I was educated at how a large university can be highly apathetic towards individual needs. It took a few years for there to even be space in my first calculus class. There was nothing I could do for the gross miscalculations the university had for demand for each subject. It took three years to even find a seat available in a calculus class, then I failed it four semesters in a row; talk about pressure. I couldn't enroll in classes that required calculus as a prerequisite so it delayed my projected graduation date. I didn't want to spend eight years for a bachelor degree because CSUS couldn't figure out what students needed which classes. The same issues occur in large organizations, it's hard doing business with them, business decisions are made much faster with smaller companies and the bureaucracy is so large in huge companies that they are not worth my time to deal with them."

Any advice for job seekers wanting to pursue a similar career?

"I'd recommend staying away from eight or more year programs (or universities that can't graduate you in four years) and choosing career paths that are not in demand. It is not worth a students time to roll dice to wait and see if a critical class is available next semester or quarter."

Paulo Acoba is a California native raised in the Bay Area and living in the Central Valley. He enjoys distance running, cycling and grassroots motorsports. He holds a degree in management from the University of California Merced. Paulo has been writing for Examiner.com since 2012 and covering the Fresno area.