was on firm ground. but when it came to running the business, he was hopeless. >> he was a horrible business person. horrible. spent way more money than he ever had. but he was a brilliant, brilliant visionary. he just wasn't a business person. >> his artistic inclinations made for some very poor business decisions. just like jeff's on the spot hiring, he experience rudy's wrath a few years later with an on the spot firing. >> it's a long story. so i came to work for hit there be neon in 1977. i left for a couple of years. i actually was fired. >> despite the rift the two stayed in touch. jeff started his own successful neon shop, and in 1990, an opportunity came up that he had never expected before. >> and so all the stars align. and we started talking about it. and i don't know what crazy idea got in my head but i said, sure. we merge the. i wasn't going to come in at anything less than an equal