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Why I Turned Down Millions and Dismantled My Company After 10 years of growing his business, an entrepreneur decides to let it all go.

By Matt Cimaglia

This story appears in the July 2017 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Benedetto Cristofani

When I graduated college in 2002, I knew I didn't want to work for anyone else. So I founded a video production company called Cimaglia Productions. Did I go to business school? No. But I loved making videos, so I went on a campaign to impress every client I could -- and, I suspect, won my first contracts by underbidding bigger agencies. Hey, I was just a kid with a camera.

Related: 4 Entrepreneurial Lessons Every Graduate Should Know

The next 10 years were about growth. I worked with major clients like Mercedes-Benz and Lavazza Coffee, and I created the first-ever high-definition segments for NBC's Dateline. I said yes to basically every job and hired dozens of full-time cinematographers, editors and producers. I doubled my company's size every year for five consecutive years, and I leased an office in Chicago's bustling downtown.

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