Larry Barels has been an entrepreneur as long as he can remember.
He is a graduate of Brigham Young University, holding a BA degree in communications. He arrived in Santa Barbara after graduation and shortly thereafter opened his own advertising agency. During his business career he has started successful businesses in advertising, real estate development and since 1983 several in the field of technology.
As a founder and CEO of Wavefront Technologies he was a pioneer in the early development of the field commonly known as computer animation. Wavefront was Santa Barbara’s first startup to public market technology company. Wavefront was responsible for many of the tools that are today common place in that field. Wavefront entered the public market in a successful IPO in 1994. In 1997, Wavefront received an Academy Award for technical excellence for their contribution to the field.
Shortly after leaving Wavefront, Mr. Barels joined another young Santa Barbara based software company, as Chairman of the Board and lead investor. That company, Software.com went on to become one of the dominant players in the new world of the internet. Their product, a carrier grade messaging system, became the dominant email system deployed by telephone companies worldwide. Software.com came to the public market in 1999 in one of the most successful IPO’s during that buoyant period.
Mr. Barels has sat on numerous boards for organizations both public and private. He is noted for his expertise in driving organizations through the difficult path of high growth and developing capital structures that best suit their needs, while recruiting and developing high functioning management teams. He has been an often quoted speaker and has been featured in articles in publications including Time, Forbes, Venture and the Wall Street Journal. As a board member of The American Electronics Association he has represented both science and education needs to members of Congress. Today he is the principal of his own venture and capital management company Pacific Capital Resources, however he is more likely to use his favorite title, Professional Recreationalist.
Larry’s interests, in addition to business, include a lifelong love of flying, surfing, and all things ocean related. He is an avid pilot who holds a commercial pilots license, a jet type rating and extensive experience in aerobatic flight. He is a board member of the international island and reef restoration organization, Seacology. Over the last 3 years he has spent over 100 days a year on an expedition vessel having traveled over 4o,ooo ocean miles during that time.
Larry and his wife Wendy were instrumental in developing the support and funding for a Chair in Tibetian Studies for the Department of Religious studies at UCSB.
When queried about his interests Larry enthusiastically describes personal interest and extensive reading in the fields of anthropology, mythology, psychology, philosophy and genomics. He includes as some of his favorite authors: Desmond Morris, Matt Ridley, Leonard Shlain, Richard Dawkins, Joseph Campbell, and Robert Thurman.
Follow Larry on Twitter – @SBSurfGuy
Larry is awesome! Worth going to TED to see him alone.
He is the BEST! Wow, totally inspiring!
Fly with me, sail the sea. Larry is an inspiration to entrepreneurs far and wide.