Attila Olbrich.

Remember that childhood dream of mine? When asked what I’d be when I grew up, I’d proudly say, “An entrepreneur with lots of money.” Well, fast forward to the '90s, and here I was—an entrepreneur, but the whole “lots of money” part was still a work in progress.

It was a time when digital knowledge was still rare, and computers were starting to pop up everywhere. But no one had smartphones (they were still a twinkle in someone’s eye) and mobile phones? They were as scarce as hen’s teeth. If you had one, it was the size and weight of a small brick, and you were a walking status symbol. Meanwhile, people were reading paper books on the train and jamming out to their portable cassette players.

One fateful day, I bumped into an old friend on the street—someone I hadn’t seen in years. It went something like this:

He: “Hey, nice to see you!” Me: “Good to see you too!” He: “I heard you're into computers now, right?” Me: “Yeah, I am.” He: “Well, I’ve started a business with my buddy, ‘Maestro,’ and we’re both clueless about computers. I’ve taken a crash course in DOS and Norton Commander, but we need someone who actually knows what they’re doing. The company that was supposed to do this for us is booked for months, so I thought, why not give it a go ourselves? Wanna join?”

Me: “What exactly would I be doing?” He: “We need someone to create the curriculum, write the book, and find a teacher. You up for it?”

Me: “Sure, let’s do it!”

Now, looking back, I was ridiculously naïve. But what could go wrong, right? I trusted my friend and jumped in. Of course, we never actually put anything in writing. "We’ll do the paperwork later," he kept saying. But no worries, right? Let’s just get to work!

I dove right in. I created the study material for DOS and Norton Commander, organized printing, and even hired a friend who was a great teacher. We started advertising, and guess what? We were fully booked in no time! People were desperate to catch up with technology.

Then came the first twist. My “friend” dropped the bombshell that, because I wasn’t part of the company on paper, he didn’t need me anymore. He had the teacher, the study material, the rented room, and he was off to run the show with “Maestro.” Cue my “exit.”

Safe to say, I was a little pissed. But instead of wallowing in it, I thought, “If I did it once, I can do it again—and this time, I’ll do it better.”

His model was simple: theory lessons in large rooms without computers, followed by a limited amount of practice time on actual machines. But I thought, how on earth do you teach computers without computers? It didn’t make sense! Back then, only 1 in 10 people had a computer at home. Not exactly ideal for learning.

So, I went all in. I invested every last penny into buying computers and built a classroom with 12 PCs plus one server. I even set up internet access on demand with a dial-up modem—talk about "cutting-edge."

It was a hit. The students loved it, and I had a few teachers on staff. As the business grew, so did the tech changes. DOS and Norton gave way to Windows, and we started teaching Windows, Office, and all the new tools that came with them.

Then, things got serious. I decided to step it up and offer higher-level education leading to a state exam. The basic level was packed with everything from DOS and Windows to Word, Excel, and Access. We had a massive question bank for theory, plus real-world tasks like creating databases and documents.

But here’s the kicker: I was naïve again. I thought my teachers could handle it. I was wrong. When I took over my first pre-exam class, almost everyone failed. Panic mode activated. I couldn’t find a new teacher in time, so I rolled up my sleeves and took over the class myself. No teaching experience? No problem! I poured my heart into it, and—success! They all passed the state exam.

From then on, I was the “teacher” and continued to teach, refine, and improve the curriculum. My results were so good that other schools asked me to take over their classes as well.

Everything was going great. Then, one day, a student with impaired hearing joined one of my classes. It was a challenge, but I was determined to help. He passed the exam with flying colors and recommended me to the Association of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. They asked me to take on entire groups of deaf students, with a sign language interpreter. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I was able to help a lot of people.

But, as with all good things, it eventually came to an end. The younger generation was already learning these skills in school, and the government rolled out free education for middle-aged and older people to keep up with the EU. The customers disappeared, and so did my business.

I ended up working with other studios, and I wasn’t the only one to close shop. Some companies adapted, shifting from basic training to teaching programming. I missed that boat, and well… that’s how I became an entrepreneur—but a bankrupt one.

No regrets, though. I may not have made a fortune, but I learned a ton—especially about coaching and presenting. And, let’s be honest, that's worth more than a few bucks.