GoDaddy FOUNDER REVEALS UNTOLD STORY OF TRAUMATIC UPBRINGING, MILITARY SERVICE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY

A lot of    people  have    heard of GoDaddy, but how many of  them   know the real-life story of the highly successful, philanthropic, and colourful man behind the company? For the first time, GoDaddy and PXG founder Bob Parsons, in a highly confessional account, shares the story of his life ;  from his humble upbringing to his meteoric rise as one of early tech’s pioneers.

Fire in the Hole! The Untold Story of My Traumatic Life and Explosive Success (Forefront Books, May 7, 2024) by Bob Parsons is an unflinching, yet inspirational  account of his path to success, from a hardscrabble childhood to his combat service as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War — and beyond.  A descendant of coal miners, Parsons grew up in the 1950s in a blue-collar, working-class neighbourhood in East Baltimore.

Failed business

Money was tight, given his parents shared a mutual fondness for gambling and were not particularly good at it. In his book, Parsons talks about the financial struggles his family faced, as well as the emotional neglect he experienced as a boy. He writes: “We were just getting by when Pop’s business failed … my dad racked up so much debt from gambling and credit cards that everything came tumbling down. In the end, he practically gave the business away. And, when he did, we went from not having much to having nothing. I mean absolutely nothing.”

Wealth

An admittedly so-so student, he recalls the struggles he faced in learning, as well as the corporal punishment dished out by Catholic school nuns. But his early experiences reveal an innate resiliency that got him through a harrowing tour of duty in Vietnam, his early years at his first company, Parsons Technology, as well as his bold business decisions that would eventually make him one of the wealthiest people in the world. With a net worth of $3.6 billion, Parsons is  number   314 on the Forbes 400 2023 list of the richest people in America.

He is   an everyman who has made it. He is  authentic. And his reflections on life, business, and giving back are heartbreaking, heartwarming, humorous, and inspiring. In the book, Parsons  shares how he survived his grueling tour of duty in Vietnam with the U.S. Marines infantry. He also  reveals the struggles he has faced throughout his lifetime because of  post-traumatic  stress   disorder  ( PTSD)  as well as the efforts he has made to treat it, including novel therapeutic uses of psychedelics. Moreover,  he  offers the lessons he has learned during his career, from the launch of his first business, Parsons Technology, to the creation of his present-day business empire, which includes YAM Worldwide and Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG).

 Since 2012, Parsons and his wife, Renee, have donated nearly $300 million to more than ninety  six   charities and organizations worldwide. Having suffered from PTSD, he works to find new and effective treatments for himself and others. He strongly believes in paying it forward. And he is always moving forward, creating new companies, and re-creating himself. Fire in the Hole! encourages readers to dream big and imagine all that  is  possible — even if the cards seem stacked against them.

About the author

Bob Parsons lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, where, among other things, he owns one of the country’s largest Harley-Davidson dealerships. Parsons is the CEO and founder of YAM Worldwide, which is home to his entrepreneurial ventures in the fields of motorcycles, golf, real estate, finance, marketing, innovation, and philanthropy. He is a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran and a recipient of the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He attended college at the University of Baltimore on the G.I. Bill and graduated magna cum laude. His alma mater presented him with an honorary doctorate in 2008 and named him Distinguished Entrepreneur in 2010.