Startup Coaches, Events, and Resources

Hello and welcome to my profile! My professional career spans roles at competitive firms like Bain & Company (management consulting), Greycroft (VC/growth equity), and Snap Inc. (marketing & technical project management). I led resume reviews, interviews, and hiring decisions across all levels at each of these companies. On the college front, I was privileged to attend the University of Southern California (USC) on a merit scholarship. I majored in Economics and also graduated from their prestigious Thematic Option honors program. I've since supported several students through their own application processes, helping them craft compelling narratives, strategically position their applications, and prepare for interviews. While I have significant experience in various industries, I’m most passionate about technology, entrepreneurship, finance, and retail / consumer brands. Let's work together to make your career dreams a reality—reach out to start your journey today!

Hi, I'm Brian. I coach leaders from every level who see good things ahead and want help navigating to them in a way that saves time and money. If you are a small business owner (aspiring or actual) I can help you make progress to get what you want. I work with leaders to to refine their message, define direction, and execute on simple actions to produce REAL results. I have experience coaching first-time team leaders, department directors, and C-suite executives to foster leadership excellence. My approach is centered around asking powerful questions that reveal truth and help you navigate your unique path forward. Additionally, my experience as an entrepreneur myself puts me in a position to understand what it means to take an idea and grow it into a business with impact. To be frank, you have all the information you could ever want at your finger tips. Your progress isn't really tied to information. It's tied to thoughtful and deliberate application of that information. That's where I can help. If you are a small business owner, whether you are at the beginning or already well on your way, I can help you get where you're going more efficiently and effectively. Let's connect to explore how we can work together to accomplish the bright future you see ahead!

Venture-backed entrepreneur, Wall Street investor, and seasoned Executive Coach with an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. With over 15 years of extensive experience of startup experience and in executive leadership roles, I am well-equipped to guide clients in their startup journey. As an entrepreneur, I have founded, built, and exited a software technology company, successfully raised capital from top-tier venture capital investors in Silicon Valley, built a global team (3 offices), and honed my skills in executive management, product launches, and team building. As an investor, I have worked in private equity for across mega funds and lower middle market funds (Morgan Stanley, Berkshire Partners, and Dubin Clark) and in hedge funds at a top decile long/short public equity technology fund, allowing me to intimately understand all of the aspects that investors are looking for when evaluating a venture capital investment and backing an entrepreneur. As an executive, operator, and Board Member, I have led Finance, M&A, Strategy, Corporate Development, and Operations for four venture-backed and private equity-owned businesses in the technology, engineering, environmental, food, agriculture, and automotive industries. Having provided over 500 hours of startup consulting, executive coaching, and strategic advisory, I specialize in helping clients navigate complex challenges and achieve their most ambitious goals.

The equation is simple: value = pain + education. Your clients or prospects have the pain: I help you educate them. I've helped entrepreneurs raise, sell, and close millions of dollars from the powerful stories we tell in the form of sales and pitch decks. I've honed this skill as I've been trained in a pitch deck design firm, to running a startup incubator, to working in VC, to now running my own brand and deck agency. I'm your go-to source for branding, storytelling, and presentation structure. In addition, I have extensive experience in data analytics, 0 to 1 startup innovation, customer research, market/competitive analysis, and strategy. I love the entrepreneurship game! Looking forward to learning about your story.

Founders face a constant stream of consequential decisions, often with incomplete information and few truly independent people to talk to. I work directly with technology founders on fundraising, board dynamics, mental resilience, and the critical strategic decisions that come with building an ambitious company. For the past 15 years, I've invested in technology companies across venture capital, growth equity, and private equity, including 10+ years at Felicis Ventures, where I was a General Partner. At Felicis, I invested more than $400 million into 40+ companies, served on 20+ boards, and helped founders navigate 100+ financings. Those companies have subsequently raised ~$5 billion of follow-on capital. I’ve worked closely with founders across stages and sectors through financings, board issues, leadership changes, periods of rapid growth, and periods when things didn’t go according to plan.

I have built from zero. Before business school I founded and ran an impact apparel brand, handling everything from product and brand to hiring a small team and driving revenue, and today I am building my own venture full time. I coach early founders and aspiring founders on the unglamorous parts that actually matter: pressure testing the idea, deciding whether to take the leap, finding your first customers, building a brand people trust, and staying honest with yourself about what is working. As a former Wall Street trader I also know how investors and operators think about risk and numbers. I will be candid, practical, and focused on getting you to your next real milestone.

With over 24 years in the corporate Supply Chain world, including 16 years in leadership, I bring a strategic, results-driven approach to business success. My expertise in strategy, leadership, and team-building, combined with over a decade of deep self-development and transformational coaching, allows me to help entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses with alignment, confidence, and purpose. How I Help Entrepreneurs: ✅ Strategic Business Foundations: Defining your vision, mission, and market position to launch with clarity. ✅ Leadership & Mindset Mastery: Overcoming self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and mindset blocks with NLP and subconscious reprogramming. ✅ High-Performance Business Strategy: Implementing corporate-level strategies tailored to entrepreneurial success. ✅ Energetic & Emotional Alignment: Using breathwork, energy work, and emotional release to remove internal resistance and stay in flow. ✅ Scalability & Growth Planning: Designing a business model that supports financial success while preventing burnout.

I have advised hundreds of startup founders across the globe regarding strategy, growth & capital raising. My clients span all verticals, all rounds, and collectively have raised over $600M. The science and methods of 'Startup Alchemy' work. I can guarantee to get you focused, to distill your company DNA, and that you will pitch with absolute clarity, and throw the most powerful punch possible every time you get in the room with an investor, customer, or potential partner. Most startup 'experts' come from marketing backgrounds. I come from 30 years of hands-on Founder experience, 4 IPOs, an acquisition by IBM, and having built and led a practice at Deloitte. Only someone who has been in the room with investors over a lifetime can teach you about the signals investors listen for, and how to manage your meetings for a win.

I've spent the past decade building software startups from the ground up, leading engineering teams, and turning ideas into products that customers actually use. I've worked as both an engineer and an engineering manager, helping early-stage companies make technical decisions, hire effectively, improve development processes, and ship products faster. Most recently, I helped build and scale a healthcare startup to more than $1M in monthly revenue, designing everything from product architecture and infrastructure to engineering workflows and AI-powered automation. I've also led teams in the airline industry, built SaaS products from scratch, and founded my own software businesses. Whether you're validating an MVP, building your first engineering team, introducing AI into your business, or trying to scale without creating technical debt, I provide practical guidance based on real experience—not just startup theory.

Welcome to my profile! With an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and extensive experience in advising and leading product growth at various startups, I am passionate about helping startup founders achieve their goals. I have successfully guided 18 entrepreneurs through the complexities of product market fit, go-to-market strategies, and monetization, leveraging my expertise as a CPO/SVP of Product & UX. My hands-on experience includes advising AI and SaaS startups, improving trial-to-paid conversions, and launching innovative products. Whether you're looking to refine your product strategy or accelerate growth, I'm here to help you navigate the startup landscape. Let's connect and take your startup to the next level!