I met President Obama at Capital Factory. When I joined Capital Factory in 2011 had you told me that I would meet the President of the United States there in 2012 I'd tell you were crazy. I mean why would the President come to Capital Factory?

The answer was actually simple. Capital Factory is doing a lot things for the startup community in Austin that can be replicated to other cities. The President visited Capital Factory to shine on light on Austin and encourage other cities to adopt much of our startup culture. Capital Factory was one of the many stops on his trip.

In the photo above I'm surrounded by other Capital Factory partners who all later got the opportunity to shake Obama's hand. He walked around the room, introduced himself and we took turns taking photos. Luckily someone took my photo shaking his hand and it is framed and sitting on my wall of fame at home. This wall of fame incidentally is directly above the toilet in the guest bathroom. I mean you've got to have a sense of humor.

The secret service was my favorite part of the whole experience. These men and women had a "don't fuck with me" sort of attitude and you did exactly as you were told. They told us not to stand up when the President was in the room. They told us to throw out anything we were holding that could be thrown at the President. We had to show up two hours early to go through security that included a metal detector and bomb sniffing dogs. All of the windows were drawn closed with shades so that you couldn't see outside. Nor could anyone see inside.

It was all of the intense security that created this air of excitement for when the President did finally show up. He walked into the room and filled it with an aura of celebrity, politics and ego. He talked like a President, looked like a President and fulfilled all of my expectations of one day meeting the President.

This will go down as one of my fondest memories at Capital Factory. While I get much more pleasure from seeing success from the various companies that go through the program this day will be one that I remember forever.

'Pics or it didn't happen' and 'team work makes the dream work' are the perfect phrases to describe the events that took place on May 9, 2013. Capital Factory staff spent an excruciating two weeks prepping the space in every way imaginable.

We moved and rearranged most of the furniture, wiped the place down from head to toe, untangled each mangled blind cord, prepped the space for clear paths, installed pipe and drape, covered each exterior window, and so much more. Today was the day all that hard work paid off.

Anticipation buzzed in the air that morning. Coworkers, mentors, partners and friends were enthusiastic. You would walk by and hear chitter-chatter about what would or would not take place that day. News stations gathered outside the Omni Hotel begging and pleading for information from anyone who might know. All the while, our staff's biggest debacle was, do we or do we not wear jeans?

The excitement and build up without a doubt added to the experience. However, the most memorable thing about that day were not the photos we took, but rather, the memory of watching the POTUS engage with each startup that presented. It was not just a few minutes of fame given, then a thank you. Rather, he really took the time to ask the important questions.

"How does your startup contribute to the economy? Is your startup creating jobs? What major problem are you solving? What impact are you making on the local and national level?"

I was completely enthralled.

Finally, at the end of presentations, the POTUS unexpectedly made his way around the room, shaking each hand. Sarah, Jessica, and I all began nervously elbowing each other as we knew we were up next. Accidentally, he skipped over the three of us. We were disappointed until he quickly turned around.

"Oops, I guess I skipped over you didn't I?" The POTUS jokingly said.

Our turns were up!

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President," I said as I shook his hand.

Here's proof that I not only met the POTUS, but that it would have never happened without the countless hours and teamwork put in by our amazing staff. I could not be more thankful.

The other day, a friend of mine happened to run into a kid at the Austin airport. The kid had laptop stickers befitting a startup, so on that basis a conversation began. My friend retold the encounter, enraptured by the deep wisdom, thoughtfulness, creativity, and yet decidedly-not-west-coast humility of this young'un, surprised that these attributes could simultaneously reside in someone who has spent so few years on Earth.

The "kid" was Chuck Gordon, who together with Mario Feghali are co-founders of SpareFoot, one of the most successful companies from the first year of Capital Factory, now with hundreds of employees, a company culture renowned in Austin, financial metrics to match, and an audacious corporate strategy that they execute with success year after year.

I had the pleasure and honor of being one of their so-called "mentors" years ago, so I've enjoyed the perspective of watching "Chario" grow in just a few years from true "kids" A/B testing business models and product lines for an unsexy industry (public storage facilities) that the high-tech community has summarily ignored, into leaders. Leaders in their market, leaders of their wildly successful company, and also leaders in Austin, now themselves joining the ranks of Capital Factory Mentors, shepherding the next Chuck & Mario team into their own success.

That such a transformation is possible in so short a time, and that Chario is one of a continually-growing set of examples, is my favorite experience at the Factory. I wish I could take some credit in mentorship, but the truth is that everyone has to take this journey themselves, has to own the decisions, has to face the consequences, but also deserves full credit for the successes. All a "mentor" can do is be a coach now and then. Perhaps lend some stories and experiences, be a reference check against a key hire or investor, hopefully offer up a few more options than was being considered, or think through some scenarios with the benefit of a few more years of observation, or sometimes just be an honest, high-fidelity mirror, because often we already know the right answer, and we can arrive there with confidence if we can look at ourselves from afar, or if someone else gives us the gentle but important nudge of confidence.

That's why I see it simply as an experience -- something I got to witness, and still do. If any of us can be even a small part of creating those experiences for others, then we've done something truly important on Earth. And Capital Factory is literally a Factory for creating as many of these opportunities as possible.