I would enjoy making this a fun site, with a lot more personal info about me and my family, my hobbies, and my passions. But I will keep it more of a resume, since it seems at this point in my life, most people are searching my name for business reasons, and not personal reasons. People have told me they have searched my name when: applying for a job at a company of ours; considering investing in one of our companies; looking for help from my brother and I in building a business of their own; and when looking to my brother and I to be investors in their own new venture.
HighSchool
I graduated from Oakville High School, in St. Louis MO, in 1992. Through my childhood and high school years, I enjoyed playing and watching sports. I was valedictorian of my class of 333 students, and received both the Bright Flight and Curators Scholarships to attend the University of Missouri.
College
At Mizzou, I earned my undergraduate degree in Math Education, having full intentions to teach high school math, and coach baseball and basketball. I decided to stay at MU to get my Masters, before going in to teaching. While in grad school, I was a TA and earned the Green Chalk Award for outstanding teaching.
Show-Me Tickets
During this time in college, my brother, Brant Bukowsky, and I began experimenting with a few companies, including a company that created PalmOS software. We also started a ticket company, Show-Me Tickets. We had a blast building this company, and I became less committed to taking classes, and more committed to growing the company. Although my passions were changing from teaching, to more of a business focus, I finally did receive my masters in 1999, an MST in Mathematics.
Show-Me Tickets continued growing rapidly, but I kept my foot in the door with teaching, as a Calculus Instructor, in the evenings at Columbia College. After a year of this, I decided to focus on my passion of building businesses, and was forced to give up the teaching, for lack of time. In 2002, our ticket company had grown to over 30 employees, and we felt strongly that we could build another successful company, alongside Show-Me Tickets. At this point, we started a mortgage company, Mortgage Research Center (MRC).
The ticket company continued to grow and was given the Inc 500 award for being one of the fastest growing private companies in the US in 2004.. That same year, our company was acquired by TicketsNow, a large ticket company based out of Chicago.
After selling the ticket company, we used our great team of people to start a few new companies including a variety of vacation rental sites, including LakeRentals.com and CoastRentals.com. We are also involved in Real Estate investing and Angel Investing.
Mortgage Research Center (MRC)
At MRC, we focus on helping Veterans and military members utilize the benefits they have earned to purchase a home. Everyone on our team has been trained to be a VA loan specialist. We feel we offer an incredible opportunity for our employees. We offer incomparable income opportunities, and special employee perks unmatched by any company in town. We feel a combination of all these things are why we have very little employee turnover.
We are very selective in who we hire, ensuring that everyone at MRC is passionate about what they do, and compassionate about others. Our extraordinary team of employees is why we have had continued growth and success. We’ve gone from 3 employees in 2003, to over 100 employees today. In 2007, we were awarded the Inc 500 award, for being the 96 fastest growing privately held company in the US, from 2003-2006. It was an honor to get this award for a second company we owned, but we feel we owe this success not to ourselves, but to the amazing, talented people we have surrounded ourselves with.
Even though we’ve been approached by companies looking to buy MRC, we have no intention of selling it. We have found an amazing business niche, in working with active duty miltary and veterans. It feels really good serving those who have served our country. Helping military personnel achieve their dreams of homeownership is extremely rewarding. Having found a business that is not only financially rewarding, but also intrinsically rewarding, makes us want to be a part of MRC for the long-term.
Brant and I enjoy building MRC to help solidify its permanent place in the mortgage industry. MRC provides high paying and rewarding jobs for many people in Columbia, and its also intrinsically rewarding for us, knowing that we are helping so many military personnel. We feel we have built a company that won’t be threatened by any industry consolidations in the future, and will remain a thriving business for the long-term. We have no intention to let go of ownership of something this enjoyable.
Personal
My greatest passion in my life is my family. I love spending time with my wife and kids, doesn’t matter what we are doing! I also really enjoy MU sports and tailgating (see our tailgating website).
I feel forever indebted to my parents for giving me such an incredible childhood, and raising me with strong virtues that have continued to guide me throughout my life. I am thankful for being blessed with such wonderful parents, and the talents the good Lord has given me. My daily goal is to utilize the talents I have been given, so they will multiply, and use them for the betterment of others