An Atlas has Fallen: A Tribute to Bob Lee

I’ve been using Cash App for years and just found out the outcome of the creator of the application through grim news. An assailant stabbed the entrepreneur and investor Bob Lee to death in San Francisco, California. The details are scarce, but some people point to the growing problems of homelessness and crime in the city to be possible factors.

The man behind aiding in and developing such platforms and services as Android and Square, Lee shouldered the burden of the heavens on his back as an investor in several companies.

For him to be struck down in such vicious fashion is a true shame. The ideas bursting from this man’s mind rivaled his companions like Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. Because of his soft spoken style and easy demeanor, he delivered on the promises of the Web 3.0 age.

As Lee took time to study the various outlets like MobileCoin, he challenged the snail banking system. His companies all reflected the power of the individual to not be encumbered by the traditional big banks.

He found solutions for making online transactions faster, safer, and more secure. As he progressed from a code writer to a leader in the tech industry, Lee continued to fight for disruption. The financial sector saw a groundswell of innovations because of Lee’s glowing mind.

What may be his crowning achievement, CashApp, has been used by millions of people to exchange funds in a streamlined fashion. Lee represented the fertile brain, issuing out brands and helping other entrepreneurs to realize their dreams in the tech world.

In all of this, the way to view Lee is as a trailblazer and a matador in his field. He kept configuring and collaborating and thinking how to make his own world a better place. His selfishness propelled him to form or be part of some of the most recognizable firms ever invented. This helped to sustain his own life and provide a blueprint for others.

While the tech world is reeling after this news, the idea of someone like Bob Lee making it in the arena in which he found himself should inspire and motivate. How he took ideas and with laser focus molded them into definite reality should be his legacy.

Billions of online users are better off because Lee envisioned something new and different for the ecommerce realm. For his steadfastness and ability to see things no one ever dreamed of and ensuring that life could be more beautiful with the products of his mind.

When professors discuss Lee’s work, they ought to include his rational self-interest and his willingness to be a beacon amidst a wasteland. To consider all of the startups he was responsible for, a whole semester could be committed to them. In his brief time on this planet, he brought comfort to the minds of the people who used his products and services.

Money is the lifeblood of any economy. Lee brought the blood through the system of the Internet and delivered on his ideal to build or help construct something that was meaningful to him. In turn, he raised the standard of life and quality of life to scores of individuals.

He will be remembered for his work and his tireless fight against the ignorance and backwardness running rampant through the culture. If he is forgotten, it will be our loss. Sure, the news cycles will run the story and investigators will continue to seek out the perpetrator(s). We’ll see if the case will be solved or not over the next few weeks, months, even years. That should not distract us from the recognition of the executives who improve lives.

Still, we should be more reverent of the captains of industry and those who carry us all aloft into greatness.