Willy Schlacks grew up in a communal religious environment that shaped his views on autonomy and ownership, then founded around ten companies as a serial entrepreneur before building EquipmentShare into a multi-billion-dollar public construction-tech platform from Columbia, Missouri. As a venture investor at Redbud VC, he combines his deep product and technology expertise in heavy industry with a philosophy of using data and software to unlock human potential rather than replace people, while deliberately building category-defining companies outside traditional Silicon Valley hubs.