Anniversaries are cause for celebration - a time to pause and reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going. 5 years ago, GrandPad’s co-founder, Isaac Lien, and the company’s first employees, Ryan Burns and David Tyler, were students at Chapman University.

Skilled in web development, video production, and computer science, these young men were grinding it out every day working on GrandPad at Chapman University’s Launch Labs. Their hard work would pay off over the course of the next 5 years and GrandPad would come to celebrate these key milestones, among many others, that have contributed to its success:

• 2018 - Equity investment from Consumer Cellular and distribution at Target stores nationwide
• 2017 - Partnership with Lyft
• 2016 - Equity investment from Acer, a top PC company

These achievements weren’t pure luck - they came as a result of trust. As we reflect on the success of GrandPad, we take a cue from Steve Jobs and this great read on what separates successful people from the rest:

“Trust that you'll figure out how to react and how to respond to roadblocks and challenges. Trust that you will become a little wiser for the experience. Trust that you'll grow more skilled, more experienced, and more connected. Try enough things, learn from every success and every setback, and in time you'll have all the skills, knowledge, and experience you need."

Today, Ryan Burns leads the Engineering team and when asked what it’s been like to have been with GrandPad since its inception, he said, “While the last 5 years with GrandPad have gone by extremely fast, when I think about the impact that building this product has had on my life and character, it feels like a lifetime. I was brought on to help build the GrandPad nearly right out of college, so I feel like I’ve grown personally as the company has grown in its success. We’ve been through a lot together, but I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything.”