Twelve Horses’ David LaPlante: Living a new, better dream
As iconic daredevil Evel Knievel learned in more ways than one, accidents happen.
It’s a lesson one Reno CEO also happened to learn more than two decades ago, courtesy of a snow-covered mountainside.
As a kid growing up in Crested Butte, Colo., going to college and forming his own company wasn’t exactly on David LaPlante’s radar.
"I wanted to be a ski bum," LaPlante said. "I wanted to go to Europe and race."
The first wrinkle in LaPlante’s dreams for a grand European tour surfaced on April 1988 during his final ski race in high school. LaPlante hooked a tip during his last slalom, disqualifying the aspiring skier. It was after the race, however, that LaPlante’s European dream would jump the shark. With his racing plans temporarily on ice due to the disqualification, LaPlante went skiing with friends at an out-of-bounds area. The accident that followed proved to be more serious than simply hooking a tip. LaPlante said he essentially "obliterated" his knee.
It was while LaPlante was recovering at home that his father would float the "C" word. Perhaps the young LaPlante should consider going to college, his father said.
Following the conversation, LaPlante and a friend soon found themselves touring the University of Nevada, Reno, as part of a recruiting visit for the ski team. Little did LaPlante know that his first step into the university would also be the first step in heading his future company, Twelve Horses.
"I just fell in love with the place," LaPlante said. "Next thing I knew, I was going to Reno. So if I hadn’t hooked that tip in that slalom — if I didn’t have that 1-centimeter judgement error, who knows where I would be now."
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