Becoming a millionaire at 25 didn't make me happy. Now, I invest in the health and happiness of my employees and myself.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brandon Card, founder and CEO of Terzo.

It has been edited for length and clarity.

In my 20s, I looked like a corporate guy through and through.

I worked for Big Tech — Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM — and was on track to become a young executive.

I could have had a great life in those positions, but I wanted something more.

Although I was working in corporate roles, I spent all my free time connecting with entrepreneurs.

While I waited for the right opportunity, I spent my weekends learning about what other entrepreneurs were doing.

I made lots of money in my day job: I could live well off $200,000 a year, and still have six figures to invest.

I started angel investing in risky, early-stage startups.

Because of that, I was a millionaire by the time I was 25.

That achievement didn’t feel like much, to be honest.

I was surrounded by extreme wealth.

Some of my colleagues lived in $20 million houses.

With $1 million, I couldn’t even buy a small house, so it didn’t feel significant.

As my wealth grew, I made some indulgent purchases.

I bought cars, two homes, and a boat, but they didn’t bring me happiness.

I realized I got much more satisfaction from investing in entrepreneurs than I did from material items.

I had the ability to impact other people’s lives by investing in their ideas, and that felt better than anything else I could spend on.

Today, I don’t own a car, and I only recently bought a house again.

I spend on self-improvement, but not on flashy items.

By 2020, I was ready to invest in my own idea.

I’d been watching AI carefully, and could see it was about to take off.

I was ready to risk losing my corporate trajectory in order to follow my dream.

I joined forces with my best friend and former college football teammate to cofound Terzo.

I invested $1 million of my own money into the AI platform, which allows companies to track all their third-party spending.

Just as the company launched, the pandemic hit.

At the same time, I lost my grandmother and a cousin, who was a child.

I was so worried about my mom and dad, as well as the rest of my family, that I moved to upstate New York to be with them.

There were a lot of tough days and sleepless nights that year.

The pandemic underscored what I already knew: money is a tool that you can use to help others, but it’s not everything.

Despite that difficult start, Terzo did well.

In 2022, we raised $16 million in Series A investment.

Then, in January 2024, my friend and cofounder died.

Losing him was the worst day of my life.

I was reeling personally and professionally; many people thought the company was over.

Luckily, that hasn’t been the case.

I’ve continued to grow Terzo, and I’m getting closer to my goal of running a billion-dollar company.

I’ve used my financial success to make myself more balanced and break down stigma around mental health.

I speak openly about seeing a therapist, in hopes that others at the company will feel comfortable talking about that too.

Eventually, I want to hire in-house mental health professionals whom all Terzo employees can see.

Many big companies talk about supporting mental health, but really doing so takes time and money.

I’m in a unique position where my company is nimble enough to try something new but established enough to have the finances to pay for it.

I’m hoping I can set a standard for mental health care within Terzo, and that Terzo can set off a domino effect for other companies.

Promoting mental health helps me honor my cofounder’s legacy.

I know he’s watching over us and is so proud of this company.