It’s a mild late-July morning in Corona Del Mar, CA: 72 degrees, light drizzle. We’re loading up Richard Woolcott’s gray sprinter van—his “surf rig.” Next to it sits a Land Cruiser with a Mt. Baker Snowboard Shop sticker on the rear window. Both are clean, neither too showy. They blend into this neighborhood of multimillion-dollar homes. We’re at one of Richard’s two local houses, an airy ’60s-era beauty bathed in white. He and his family recently moved into something more modern a few blocks down. 

Richard, who carries that California surf vibe in his stride, drives us to a seaside state park. There are porpoises a few hundred yards out. He says it’s a good sign. A cliff abuts the south end of this quiet strip of sand, and small waves roll off a corner of what he calls “Elevator Point.” Inland sits open country as far as the eye can see, a rarity in Orange County. 

“I’ve made every big decision in my life right here,” Richard says. “Going public, selling the company, marriage, starting a family—I sit down and look at this cliff.”…

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