Get to know me…
I’m an entrepreneur with 2x exits (so far), lots of strikeouts, angel investor, former venture capitalist, and worked in Marketing at America Online.
I started my professional career on the Internet in 1996 as the Founder/CEO of Worldwide Angler, Inc. Worldwide Angler became the #1 social networking and e-commerce site for sport fisherman on the Internet. I bought the company back from the investors in 2001, re-branded it, and led it to a successful exit a decade later.
My career has taken me from working at America Online when it was the largest Internet company in the world, working at two venture capital firms, starting a CRM company that turned into an intelligence platform that was venture backed, running a software engineering company serving the DOD and other USG customers to serving as the CFO and COO of a bond management company.
I live Half Moon Bay, CA with my wife and dogs.
When not at the keyboard you can find me riding my road bike or fishing somewhere fun.
Education
- MBA from UNC, Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School
International studies at:
* Erasmus, Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands
* Gdansk Foundation for Management Development, Poland
* EGADE, Monterrey, Mexico
* FGV-EAESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil
* Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong, China - Masters in Psychology from Washington College (Psi Chi National Honor Society)
- BA in Psychology from Washington College (President of the Psi Chi National Honor Society, Honors Thesis, NCAA Sports Writer Scholarship)
- Post Graduate work at Stanford University: Certified Expert Tiny Habits Coach – B.J. Fogg, Stanford’s Behavioral Design Lab
- High school: The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland (Governors Award for Top 1% of Class)
Volunteer Work/Associations
- Marine Ventures Fund (2001- Present) – Board Member
- Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (2022- present) – Chairman/Committee Member, appointed by City Council, Half Moon Bay, CA
- Hacking for Defense (H4D) – Management Science & Engineering- Stanford University – Mentor (2016 – present)
- Future Enterprisers (2022 – present) – Founder, teaching high school students how to build a business plan and start a business
- Outdoor Writers Association on America (1996- present) – Member
- Maryland Sport Fish Advisory Commission (2009-2013) – Commissioner, appointed by the Governor of Maryland
Author/Producer/Host
- Book Author: Back of the Napkin to…Business Plan in 11 Slides. So easy you can do it on a flight from San Francisco to New York.
(#1 Amazon Best Seller) - Book Co-Author: Digital Operations Playbook: AI Readiness for SMBs
- US Patent Co-Author/Holder: Publication # US 2014-0074952 A1, Systems and methods for aggregation, correlation, display and analysis of personal communication messaging and event-based planning.
- Academic Published Paper Co-Author: Navy Post Graduate School, Monterey, CA: Understanding Warfighters’ Personal Identifiable Information (PII) Derived from Publicly Available Information (PAI)
- Short Film, Producer: A Changing Delta (2012)
* Aired on PBS, Film Festivals Selection, watch for free here - Short Film, Producer: Keeping Country (2015)
* Short Film, Film Festivals Selection, watch for free here - Short Film, Producer: Whits End (2025)
* New York Documentary Film Festival Selection
* Napa Valley Fork2Film Festival Selection
* Toronto Short Film Festival Selection
* Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston) Selection
* Long Island International Film Festival Selection
* Oregon Documentary Film Festival Selection
* Richmond International Film Festival Selection - Short Film, Producer: Seafarer (2025)
* Big Blue Film Festival Selection
* Long Island International Film Festival Selection
* New York Documentary Film Festival Selection
* Oregon Documentary Film Festival Selection (finalist for best short documentary) - Podcast Host: Top 100 Ranked Podcasts: The EDGE, Productivity Podcast, Marketing Podcast, Business Plan Podcast
- Author: EDGE Email Newsletter: Weekly email newsletter that 20,000+ executives, entrepreneurs, and high performers rely on for an edge to achieve their best selves in their personal and professional lives. You can read some of the articles here and if you like them… Sign up for free at the bottom of any page on this site to get more.
- Author: essays on life, business, wealth, peak performance and health
Angel Investing
-
STAQ – AI/Big data company. (Acquired)
- Knightscope – Autonomous Security Robots (ASRs) powered by AI. (IPO: $KSCP)
-
Modern Picnic – the worlds most fashionable lunchbox.
- 3rd Brain – AI enablement company.
-
Trevally – your relationships operating system.
- BFF Dog Treats – your dog wants these!
Speaking Topics
- How to build a Business Plan
- Digital Media
- AI, machine learning, emerging technology and it’s applications
- Marketing (financial modeling, SEO, social media, email, podcasting, video, direct marketing)
- Digital Operations
- Venture Capital / Angel Investing
- How to build a Pitch Deck to raise money from investors
- How to raise money from investors at each of the different rounds (Pre-seed, A, B, C, D, public markets) of capital raises
- Entrepreneurship
- Intrapreneurship – building a product, service or spin out company within a larger company
- Productivity Systems and Operations
- For more information on having me speak at your event please visit my keynote speaker page.
Fun/Hobbies
Biking Adventures
Grand Fondo & Century Finishes:
- Death Ride, Tour of the California Alps ( 103 miles over 14,000′ of climbing in a single day. Includes 6 HC Alpine climbs)(California)
- Garrett County Diabolical Double (126.2 miles over 16,500 feet of climbing in a single day)(Maryland)
- Levi’s Gran Fondo (Growler, 137.95 miles over 13,604 feet of climbing in a single day)(California)
- Terrible Two (200k, 121 miles over 11,284 feet of climbing in a single day) (California)
- Jensie Gran Fondo (California)
- Wine Country Century (California)
- Seagull Century (3x) (Maryland)
- and many others…
Fishing/Fly Fishing
- I’ve been fortunate to fish over the world in some of the best places on earth. Check my fishing page