About Michael Bruno
Michael Bruno is the creator of Call the Future™, founder of 1stdibs.com, and the visionary behind Valley Rock Inn. Known for his bold ideas and ability to bring dreams into form, Michael has spent a lifetime turning thought into reality.
A lifelong achiever, he won a Junior Olympics gold medal, set a Colorado state swimming record, and took first prize for lambs at the Colorado State Fair. Even early in life, he had a gift for focus, discipline, and execution—whether in the pool, the show ring, or the business world.
His journey into conscious creation began in the early 1980s when he read Think and Grow Rich—the world’s best-selling self-help book of all time by Napoleon Hill—on a beach in La Jolla California. That same day, he set two bold goals: to get his real estate license by the end of summer and to build a billion-dollar company by the time he was in his 50’s. He achieved both. By his late twenties, he had become one of California’s top-producing real estate agents, generating over $1 million a year in commissions.
He went on to found 1stdibs, the groundbreaking online marketplace that changed how the world shops for luxury design. The company went public on Nasdaq in 2018 and reached a valuation of over $1 billion. A chapter of Michael’s life was featured in Think and Grow Rich: The Movie, which recreated his Think Rain campaign from the 1980’s—a collective thought exercise that successfully ended a severe drought in California in 48 hours.
Michael’s spiritual journey began in his twenties, sparked by reading A Course in Miracles and a growing awareness of the power of thought. It deepened profoundly during a transformational trip to Egypt, where he joined a group led in part by Marianne Williamson. During an all-night meditation inside the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid, he experienced a deep shift in awareness and realized that there is far more to our existence than we’ve been taught.
Michael later revitalized the historic heart of a small Hudson Valley village, purchasing and restoring 17 buildings and creating Valley Rock Inn—a thriving destination for food, nature, and wellness that earned him New York State’s Pillar of Preservation Award. Today, thousands of people visit Valley Rock each month to dine, learn, connect with nature, and celebrate life events, including weddings, birthdays and retreats.
Backed by ancient wisdom and Nobel Prize–winning science, creating Call the Future™ is the next chapter on Michael’s journey—a manifestation app designed to help others consciously choose their thoughts, align with their vision, and create the life they were born to live.