A Word from our Founder: Nathan Irvine

I am Nathan Irvine, owner and founder of irecoveryourphone, technological guru, photographer, and outdoor enthusiast.

I grew up in a very small town in the Northern part of California. As a child I had a lot of time on my hands and spent many summer days exploring the outdoors and taking pictures of nature, with my Nikon Coolpix 880 (a camera that I saved for years to afford).

At the age of ten, my parents bought my siblings and myself a brand new Apple Macintosh performa 6400. My life was forever changed. I played with our Mac endlessly and couldn’t get enough. My dad fostered my love of Apple computers and told me stories of how Steve Jobs and Steve Woz started Apple. I was enthralled and I still remember the day he came home and told me that Steve was back at Apple!

When we finally filled up the 2.4GB hard drive, my father and I replaced it with a HUGE 10GB drive and increased the RAM from 16MB to 80MB. This was my first time taking apart an Apple computer and I have been hooked ever since.

In sync with my love of Apple, I also had a deep love for business. I actually started my first business at the age of 5, well before I knew anything of computers or Mr. Jobs. I sold pens for 10¢ to kids at the local school. I would take apart the pens and put them back together, swapping out colors and pieces to create “custom” pens.

This addiction to business grew and when I was 11 I began another business venture, raising and selling chickens. I invested in two incubators that would allow me to hatch 50 chicks at a time, and while my actual yield was around 25, I did manage to raise 75 chickens in one summer. My dad took me to the local swap meet and helped me sell them at the end of summer.

The proceeds of my businesses funded my love of photography. All my money went towards new digital cameras or upgrades to one I already had. I spent countless hours taking pictures of bees. My uncle came for a visit once and showed off his Canon 5D with a 24-70L series lens. I couldn’t believe how awesome that camera was! I began saving immediately.

At 17 I started buying and selling used Apple computers on eBay. I divided my time between my business, my full time job and college. When I was almost through college I moved to Los Angeles, graduated with a BS in business and started spending more time on my computer business.

In the city I shifted the direction of my business from sales to services. This was a successful move for me and I’ve been focusing on service ever since. I started small, specializing in the kinds of repairs most mac shops don’t want to take on. My business has seen yearly growth and my interest in and love of apple computers has endured. I’ve come a long way since my “custom pen” business; I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t; my business has seen many changes, but in the end, one thing always stays the same: I believe in running a business I can stand by, with excellent customer service and quality repairs.