April 2014
| Business World Magazine | 67
with designs on a career in investment bank-
ing.
Instead, he decided to return in 1987
and joined with his parents in the pre-school
fray, where they formed a company called
Tutor Time that ultimately grew to more
than 200 locations. His father sold his inter-
est in the business and retired as chairman
in 1997, and Weissman stayed an additional
two years before exiting in 1999 as president.
A non-compete clause sent Weissman
back into his college career field, but, when
the New York skyline was permanently al-
tered, the time was suddenly right for a re-
turn to familiar turf.
“I went to my father and said, ‘I’m go-
ing back in the pre-school business,’” Weiss-
man said. “He was enjoying life and I made
a promise to him that I didn’t keep. I made
a promise that I would start small and just
keep it small. But I just think there’s some-
thing in our blood to grow a business. He
always tells the story that I promised him I
would only build four to six locations for the
family and it was a great business and a great
way to make a living and make our lives easy.
“But I didn’t do that. I apologized to
him.”
