SEPTEMBER 2007: BIZ LIFE, SECOND ACT
An engineer gets his goat
FLAVIO DECASTILHOS, a Silicon Valley veteran, knows first-hand
the challenges involved in leaving one career to start another.
While he now owns 2-year-old Tumalo Farms just outside of Bend,
DeCastilhos began working in the high-tech industry in the
early 1980s, when the Internet was mainly a government
experiment. He left in 2001 when the web business was battling
back from the dot-com bust.
DeCastilhos worked for several tech companies during the 1980s
and ’90s. He co-founded Healtheon.com, an early player in
the business of conducting health-care interactions online. In
1999, Healtheon merged with WebMD and in 2001 DeCastilhos
left.
While visiting family in southern Brazil he became intrigued
by the cheese industry there. DeCastilhos says he saw the
opportunity to create something new and exciting in the U.S.,
which lacks the diversified cheese market of other
countries.
To prepare for a new old industry, DeCastilhos hit the books.
Since he had no previous experience in either farming or cheese
making, DeCastilhos appreciates all the advice he received.
Experts from Oregon State University and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture offered tips on handling his farm and managing his
current population of about 350 goats.
“I had a pretty good concept of what needed to be done,
I just had to go find the right players,” DeCastilhos
says. After nearly a year of patience and planning, Tumalo
Farms produced its first wheel of artisan cheese in August
2005.
Looking back, DeCastilhos has a one-word piece of advice for
anyone considering leaving their current job for something new:
patience. “It takes a year to build so you can produce
something and a year to get your name out,” he says.
“There are hurdles anywhere you start a new
business.”
COLLEEN MORAN
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