Copham started Mounds View–based Liberty Check Printers in 1985. He sold it in 2005 for $160 million.
“I learned that you have to commit to what you’re doing, be resilient, willing to compromise, and know in your heart that you can walk away. Selling a company is just high-stakes poker; there’s a certain amount of bluffing going on. I’m emotional. My highs are pretty high, my lows are pretty low, and I’m pretty impulsive. I realized where my Achilles heel is and to have people around who can compensate for that. I learned I could do the deal. I had my doubts. I thought that, when push came to shove, I would walk away. Liberty was like another child. I was intimately involved in it for a long time.”
