Why Did Eric Betzig Leave His Father's Company?

Eric Betzig says he is a good scientist, a horrible businessman, and an even worse salesman. He cannot make people feel comfortable. Raising money from philanthropy runs into the same wall, because he comes across as too crazy. Even philanthropists who claim they are risk-tolerant do not want to look stupid.

After six years he apologized to his dad for wasting a couple million dollars of his money. The company was still doing fine. His dad wanted his son to take over the business someday. Eric Betzig calls his dad the inverse of him: people-friendly, able to make everybody feel comfortable and like him. He was never going to fill his dad's shoes, and he did not want to. He still saw himself as a scientist and a technologist who wanted to build a warp drive. Running a machine tool company was not his dream.

The business went fine for several years after he left. His dad got old, and CNCs started to take over more and more of the business. Through the 90s, minivans were doing well, and encroachment by the Japanese put pressure on the big three. The company got up to 70 million and stayed around 70 million until his dad retired.