Henry Kaestner
Chairman & Co-Founder, Bandwidth.com
Chairman, Durham Cares
I moved to the area in 1997 to start a company and for my wife, Kimberly, to earn her degree from UNC. My best advice for someone moving to the Triangle would be to fully embrace it. No matter the reason that you are moving here, don’t look at this place as just a stop along your career. Some great ways to do this are to learn some history. Get out and eat well. Durham is one of the best food small towns in the country. Every week, world class authors and speakers are in the area at Duke and UNC, so get familiar with the speaker schedules. Get involved in your community by volunteering. Often we miss the blessing of giving of our time and money because we believe there is a real cost to giving. What actually happens when we give is that we are enriched in a way that we could never buy.
My partner, David Morken, and I started Bandwidth.com to radically innovate and transform telecom. We work to free consumers from the grip of the telecom giants. We position our employees to prosper as individuals through growing faith, family, work, and fitness (and in that order). We keep doing what we do to honor God. We believe that He created us to do business and we want to be excellent at the business we do.
My top tips for success are three: 1) Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. 2) Love your neighbor as yourself. 3) Read Proverbs and do what it says. My favorite things to do in the Triangle include hiking with my family at Eno River, go-carting with my son at Rush Hour Karting in Garner, Carolina football games, and going to the Durham Farmers’ Market and the Food Truck Rodeo. My favorite restaurant is Nana’s and second favorite is Sushi Love. Try the Durham Cares roll!
