"I was so depressed that I spent my days in the basement in my jammies. The only reason I got dressed was to greet my wife coming home from work."

When Richard Tait reached his lowest point, he desperately needed a close friend. Before founding the board-game company Cranium, Tait had been one of Microsoft's stars, selected as "Employee of the Year" in 1994. After ten years of eighty-hour weeks, he was burned out and decided to quit in his early thirties. He recalled, "I got to the point where I was lost. I knew that it was better for me to leave."

For several months, Tait shuffled around his house, trying to think of entrepreneurial ideas. "That was a very dark period.” During that time, Tait's friend Bruno, whom he had known when they worked together at Microsoft, came to his house for long conversations. "He's one of my most trusted friends. He has been my gladiator three times in my life," said Tait. "I can be completely vulnerable with him. Bruno gave me confidence and enabled me to be true to myself. He always said, 'You'll have another idea.' After six months, the idea for the board game Cranium finally came to me."