Let Me
Introduce myself
Serial entrepreneur with software development experience. An Iraq combat veteran, author and tech nerd. I'm always looking into the future and for the tools to get everyone there.
Current projects I'm working on
Founder | Graybun
The simplest tool for parents to discover and plan for kids focused events.
Founder | Startup Stratagem
Merging an artistic style of old philosophical tone with modern startup strategies, I write about startup lessons and changing your entrepreneurial outlook.
Founder | Refugee Railroad
By combining machine learning with human crowdsourcing, I'm developing a tool to provide clarity on global resources for refugees.
Here are past
startups of mine
CTO & Co-Founder
September 2016 - August 2017
Kivoke
An app to help employees within a company meet each other based on similiar interests. If Linkedin met Meetup.com.
Co-Founder
January 2016 - Present
Refugee Railroad
The use of Artificial Intelligence (Deep Learning) and crowdsourcing to reduce the time individuals are refugees and to provide global clarity on resource needs for each camp. If crowdsourcing met supply chain management.
Creator
May 2016 - Present
PollClicker
A massive multiplayer game in the political genre that takes the 'idle clicker' concept into the competitive arena. If Farmville met Politics.
Founder
January 2015 - Present
BardMaster
An interactive fiction platform that hosts digital novels and role playing games. If Choose Your Own Adventure met Netflix.
Founder
January 2015 - Present
Startup Stratagem
Strategic content for startups delivered through a series of case studies, lessons learned and stratagem verbage. If Sun Tzu was an entrepreneur.
CEO & Founder
July 2012 - June 2014
Saga Swell
A content scheduling platform for bloggers to synchronize and distribute blog posts and social media messaging. If Wordpress met Hoost Suite.
Education
Deep Learning Fundamentals Certificate
Udacity
Front-end Developer Certificate
Udacity
Bachelors
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Intelligence Analyst to Intelligence Chief
Army
Take a look at
my portfoilio
Kivoke
Lessons Learned: Even with strong customer and product discovery you still need to be careful to test human behaviors and risky assumptions.
ChoreFund
Lessons Learned The right cofounders will make or break a startup. Some will interview well for the role and perform poorly. Find cofounders who are willing to take as much risk as you are.
StartUp Stratagem
Lessons Learned: Content, simple or profound, can be difficult to create with meaning while also being easy for beginners to understand. Once you've bitten from the "apple of knowledge" you can't go back, rendering expertise an obstacle in passing on wisdom in an accessible way to entrepreneurial padawans.
Refugee Railroad
Lessons Learned: Things always take longer than you expect. If it's worth it, keep at it.
BardMaster
Lessons Learned: When participating in multi-sided markets focus on providing a service or tool for one side. After establishing the first side, build the other.
A little about my
Leadership Philosophy
Expect the best, get the best
Focus on what you and your direct reports could be, not what they cannot be. If you call someone a thief and do so often, they are likely to embody those traits. The same can be said for expecting the best out of a person. Expect excellence, encourage excellence, and help your team achieve excellence.
Establish standards and hold to them
Establish standards that are clear, measureable, and fair. Create clarity for yourself and others. Implement a rubric rather than a sliding scale. Take time to understand the journey of others, be it people or products, but do not mistake the best that is offered for the best that can be.
Feedback in all directions
Everyone should be able to provide feedback to anyone. This is not a top to bottom or peer to peer thing. There is value collecting varying perspectives. Seek not to just listen, but to understand. This extends to hearing those who speak up about your product, services and processes.
To lead, follow behind
Find passionate, focused and great people and get out of the way. You attract these people by being the best you can be and asking the same of them. This often requires being willing to work ferociously at your job and even harder at serving the people you lead. Said differently, the success and growth of my direct reports is a personal mission of mine.