Bill Gates often likes to tell the story about the time he was in a meeting with Bryan Sampica, or is it the other way around? Actually, we asked Bryan to name-drop and he hit a home run. He's a .NET guru, entrepreneur, all-around good guy, and the focus of this month's 25 Things:

1. I'm a programmer, an artist, and a photographer (you've probably seen my work and don't know it).

2. I'm a father, step-father and a husband.

3. Golf is my favorite sport to play (played in college). Soccer was my best sport to play (could have played college), and football is my favorite sport to watch (college or pro).

4. The Denver Broncos are my favorite team, as well as the Iowa Hawkeyes (alumni).

5. One of my favorite things to do is run at 5:00 a.m. with my dog when it's still dark out and the world is quiet (personal reminder: Start running again).

6. I have taken a huge interest in culinary skills, and have been practicing at home on my family, for better or worse. :)

7. I speak Microsoft, but my translator is Apple. In a perfect world Visual Studio would run natively on Mac OS.

8. At least two times a year I try to break out of the norm and go somewhere. Last year it was Puerto Rico.

9. I'm an avid snow skier, hiker and outdoors man, and I love to camp. My motto: If there's an outlet at your campsite, keep walking till there isn't.

10. I'm extremely social, except when I'm not.

11. I've been to a lot of Europe and would visit most of it again if given the chance.

12. I've sat at a table with Bill Gates and 15 others hashing out ideas for Windows and .NET.

13. My favorite food changes at least twice a week.

14. I have a one-year-old son, a 15-year-old stepdaughter and a 13-year-old stepson.

15. My attention span for making lists is shorter than it should be...

16. What was I doing again?....

1. What would you and your fellow developers say are the traits of a great developer?

Bryan: I personally consider one of the greatest traits to be curiosity. The desire to want to know exactly how something works and why it works will often lead to the question of "how can it work better".

2. We're in the age of startups and you've started and sold a business. What stands out about that experience? What advice do you have for tech entrepreneurs?

Bryan: I would encourage developers to start small and find their niche. In the experiences I've had in startups, including my own, over-reaching is a HUGE risk, running very closely with misidentifying your market. Having something great in front of you, and not "seeing it and making money from it" because your goal is x or y can lead to huge disappointments.

Some of my greatest lessons came from starting, running and selling my own businesses (twice). What continues to stand out is the amount of work and luck it requires to be successful in the software world as a small company. It's not for the faint of heart and don't quit your day job till you've doubled your salary with sales of your "own" thing for six straight months.

3. What about your career are you most proud of?

Bryan: I think I'm most proud of all the relationships I've fostered while walking through my career. I've had the opportunity to meet, sit and talk, and even contribute in round table discussions with some of the most amazing people, leaders of the software industry today. I've also had the chance to mentor junior and starting developers and I've been mentored in many ways. The lessons I've learned from all sides of that coin are something I hold very close.

4. Are we correct to say you are a .NET evangelist? If so, what is it that motivates you to present on this?

Bryan: You'd be correct; I am a .NET evangelist. The best way to describe my stance is, I love the technology. I speak, present, recommend and get behind the technology 100%. I incorporate the technology as often as it's a good fit into my personal projects, work projects, and encourage others to do so as well. My motivation is a personal preference, there are many many great programming languages out there. I personally feel very strongly about Microsoft's commitment to the tech, the tools around the tech, the teams around both, and the transparency they are providing. 

5. If someone made a movie about your life, what would they call it? Who would you want to play you?

Bryan: That's a hard one. I'd probably be closer to Seinfeld than anything you could put into a movie. My life is filled with ridiculous scenarios every day that seem to lead to entertainment more than anything. :)