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RESUME
Name: Paul O'Kane.
Title: President and CEO.
Company: Fine by Design, San Francisco; designs and builds kitchens and bathrooms, also a general contractor.
2000 revenue: $1.6 million.
Number of employees: 20.
Year founded: 1988.
Source of startup capital: Personal savings.
Background: Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland; studied aircraft mechanics at San Mateo College; switched to cars when the aircraft industry got rough in the early '80s; after a back injury, worked in management in father's construction company; then began kitchen business with wife Alonda O'Kane.
Age: 39.
Residence: Petaluma.
Web site: www.finebydesign.com.
BIG PICTURE
Reason for starting business: I saw that I was good at designing things, and I didn't see kitchens out there that I thought were done well. The kitchens we design are a little more developed and unusual than some that have the same old stick-up cabinets and built-in appliances. I wanted to design kitchens that were more aesthetically pleasing, with specific products that I thought were the best available.
Hardest part of the decision: just the jump to going on my own - my dad thought...