Behind The Music: The Entrepreneur - Forbes.com -- Inspirational Story

"Matthews sold a piece of land in the Hamptons on New York's Long Island, bought in flusher times, to get back in the game. He partnered with Atari to develop an early speech synthesizer, but the U.S. gaming company nearly went bankrupt in 1984 during a crash in the videogame business. Japanese imports began crowding his guitar pedal business in the late '70s and finally won the battle. Electro-Harmonix went bankrupt again in 1985, devastating Matthews. Battling depression, he sought a new niche. "