My goal wasn't to make a ton of money. It was to build good computers. I only started the company when I realized I could be an engineer forever.
Another hero was Tom Swift, in the books. What he stood for, the freedom, the scientific knowledge and being and engineer gave him the ability to invent solutions to problems. He's always been a hero...
Teachers started recognizing me and praising me for being smart in science and that made me want to be even smarter in science!