Startup Coaches, Events, and Resources

Built a career in strategy, marketing, and growth. From management consulting to leading brand at IBM and eBay, I now bring that corporate rigor to my coaching clients. I help you with strategy and systems to win right-fit clients at healthy margins. I share what I've learned and coach you so you can say exactly what buyers needs to hear to sign a five, six and seven-figure+ contract. And we avoid the big business ‘nice to haves’ a growing business can (and must) do without. Because in a sea of sameness, your moat is what you stand for, who you serve best, and what only you deliver. Sharpening one client's positioning increased their deal size 40% and cut their sales cycle 35%.

I’ve been involved with dozens of successful early-stage startups as a Co-founder, CEO, Investor, Advisor. I’m passionate about helping others avoid the pitfalls of early-stage startups, team formation, idea validation, development, and go to market strategy. I currently help run a Venture Studio in Utah called Philo Ventures where we're building startups with a team of software engineers, product strategists, ux designers, marketers. Part time I also help run a student startup incubator based at Brigham Young University called 'Sandbox' where undergraduate students take a year off of their normal coursework and get college credit while we pair them up with experts from the community and teach them how to start a software startup.

I've spent my career at the intersection of technical depth and human complexity, and that's exactly where the most pressing founder challenges live. My background spans three years as Chief of Staff at Khosla Ventures, six years in the Army Special Forces, and a joint MBA/MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford with a focus on AI and quantum computing. I've worked with dozens of founders at all stages, from bootstrapped through Series A and beyond, on all aspects of the founder journey: company formation, finding PMF, pivoting, fundraising, hiring, and scaling. Drawing on my experience operating as part of high-performing teams in high-stakes environments, I also help founders skillfully navigate the challenges that don't show up in pitch decks but derail companies anyway — cofounder conflict, role confusion, and communication breakdowns. For founders with deep technical backgrounds, my training in physics and engineering and three years inside a deep tech VC firm means I actually understand what you're building, and the identity shift that comes when a researcher steps into the CEO role.

I work with founders to turn ideas into scalable, data-driven products - focusing on what actually drives growth: product-market fit, activation, conversion, retention, and go-to-market strategy. As a Senior Product Manager at Delivery Hero, I lead growth initiatives across 20+ countries, working on products used by millions of users and running experiments at scale to improve core business metrics. My approach is highly practical and execution-focused: identifying the highest-leverage opportunities and helping founders prioritize what will truly move the needle. I’ve worked with founders across Japan, Italy, South Africa, Singapore and Thailand, supporting them on product strategy, experimentation, and GTM decisions. From early validation to scaling phases. Whether you're refining your product, improving growth, or navigating key trade-offs, I help you make faster, clearer, and more effective decisions grounded in real-world experience.

Former elite college professor of entrepreneurship, bringing a rich background in founding, scaling, and advising both mission-driven small businesses and venture-backed startups. I combine deep operational experience with a sharp strategic lens, honed across roles as a journalist, consultant, founder, and impact investor. My work sits at the intersection of purpose and performance—supporting early-stage entrepreneurs, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, in building resilient, revenue-generating companies that create lasting value. Whether you're refining your pitch, navigating fundraising, or building systems for growth, I bring tailored, candid guidance rooted in real-world insight—and a genuine passion for seeing you win.

I work with startup founders the same way I approach real-world decision making. No hype, no theory, and no pretending there is a one-size-fits-all playbook. I focus on helping you make clear, practical decisions based on your actual situation, not what sounds good online. My background is built around working with real people, solving real problems, and cutting through bad assumptions that hold businesses back. Whether it is structuring your next move, thinking through risk, improving decision-making, or getting unstuck, I bring a disciplined, straightforward approach that helps you move forward with clarity and confidence instead of guesswork. I am also the author of Who’s Got Your Six?, which focuses on accountability, trust, and making better decisions when it matters most. That same mindset carries into how I work with founders. I am not here to impress you with jargon. I am here to challenge weak assumptions, help you think clearly about risk and opportunity, and build a plan you can actually execute. Whether you are early stage, trying to stabilize, or looking to make smarter strategic moves, I bring a disciplined, straightforward approach that helps you move forward with clarity, confidence, and a much higher level of awareness than most people operate with.

I’m a former VC and the CEO/founder of a venture-backed startup funded by Silicon Valley and Singapore-based investors. I’ve spent 20 years in finance, strategy, and investing where I've been evaluating hundreds of founders, reviewing pitch decks, shaping investment narratives, and leading diligence across early-stage and growth-stage companies. As a former Partner at Turret Capital and Director of Investment Strategy at Catcha Group (Southeast Asia’s leading venture builder), I’ve overseen a $1 billion portfolio and worked directly with founders on business models, GTM strategy, traction storytelling, and fundraising readiness. I’ve also raised capital for my own company, giving me firsthand insight into what investors actually look for in a pitch. My specialty is helping founders win high-stakes opportunities by crafting clear, compelling, investor-ready materials. I support early-stage teams with pitch deck creation and refinement, business plan development, investor narrative strategy, market sizing, competitive analysis, and overall fundraising preparation. Whether you're refining your pre-seed story or preparing for a Series A raise, I bring both investor and founder perspective to help you communicate your value with precision.

As Instagram's first hire in Latin America and an early Google Brazil team member, I've spent 8+ years in the LatAm startup and VC ecosystem working with founders and founding teams. I help you unlock how your personal mission translates to your business — and turn that into an engine of growth for partners, customers, and investors. Together, we'll find your unique story, connect it to your mission, and coach you on the best ways to express your authentic superpower.

I started my career at Airbnb, worked in Venture Capital, and now run my own VC-backed startup. I've raised $4M+, built our company into 7 figures, and was awarded Forbes 30 under 30. I've done everything from building 0-1 bootstrapped, raising multiple rounds of funding, scaling and building a team, navigating through crisis and more.

No one cares about what you think the future will look like. No one will invest in your moonshot idea. Trust me, I have scars to prove it. Your goal as a startup founder is to uncover simple secrets of our world today and find the quickest way to determine if those secrets are true (ie: if people will pay you to reveal those secrets). Don't spend years building aimlessly. Don't waste money when you don't need to. I will guide you in developing your first product and getting your first round of funding. I am a 2x founder, VC Backed. dunly.ai: Gen AI & Fintech - B2B tryrelic.com: Augmented and Virtual Reality - B2C