This interview with Andre Durand, chief executive of Ping Identity, which offers technology to protect professional and personal identities, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.
Q. Were you an entrepreneur early on?
A. As far back as I can remember. My mother says that when I was about 4 years old, I was selling my toys. Later on, I had a paper route, but I didn’t stop there. I started selling synthetic motor oil to the people on my paper route. I figured that if I was already collecting the money for the papers, I could sell them oil, too. I also rebuilt and sold bikes that I pulled out of the Dumpster. Then, when I was about 19, I got my first PC. I just fell in love with software.
Q. You’ve started a few companies. What were some early leadership lessons you learned, particularly about culture?