Builder · Brand Strategist · Fundraising Advisor
I build things.
Thirty years. Twelve ventures. Seven exits. Over $75M raised.
I have started companies from nothing, fixed brands that were broken, and helped founders raise capital when investors kept passing. Now and then I take on something larger than a business.
30
Years
12
Ventures built
7
Exits
$75M
Raised
Three things I'm known for
Building from scratch
I have started twelve companies. Some failed fast, which is fine. Several scaled. A few made a real dent. I know what it takes to go from an idea that sounds insane to a business that works. I also know the point at which most founders make the mistakes that are hardest to recover from, because I made most of them first.
See the ventures →Fixing broken brands
Most brand problems are not design problems. They are clarity problems. BRANDEM OS introduces mathematical precision to brand building — seven interconnected pillars (Beacon, Resonance, Authority, Narrative, Delivery, Engagement, Momentum) that convert founder vision into market dominance. No subjective guesswork. Proven frameworks and scalable systems built over thirty years of watching great products get buried under the wrong story.
See BRANDEM OS →Getting founders funded
Technical founders build great products. The ones who can't raise are usually not failing on the product. They are failing on the narrative — how they explain what they are building, why it matters, and why now. I diagnose that gap and fix it. FundingDX is where that work lives.
Get diagnosed →Current work
What I'm building, running, and working on right now.
FundingDX
A funding diagnostic for founders who get meetings but can't close rounds. I find the gap between the product and the pitch and tell you what is actually blocking the raise.
BRANDEM™ OS
A mathematical brand strategy framework. Seven pillars, precise equations, and scalable systems that convert founder vision into category-defining brands. No guesswork.
The England Archive
A three-year documentary portrait project documenting the people keeping England's traditions, craft, and landscape alive. Eight regions. Five subject categories. A systematic record made while there is still someone to make it.
Advisory
Strategic advisory for founders navigating fundraising and brand positioning. A small number of relationships at any one time.
About me
30 years building companies. 12 ventures launched. 7 exits. Over $75M raised in startup funding. $1M+ deployed as an angel investor across 15 years. Brands built for ESPN, Microsoft, Target, and the US Army alongside hundreds of startups from first dollar to exit.
I have sat in the investor's chair and I have sat in the founder's chair. I have watched brilliant companies fail to raise because their positioning was invisible to them and obvious to everyone across the table. I have watched average companies close rounds in weeks because they understood exactly how investors needed to hear their story.
That pattern is what led me to build FundingDX.
I now run Fundraising Strategy Sprints for founders who are getting investor meetings but not term sheets. 90 minutes. You walk out with a repositioned investment thesis, a map of exactly why investors are stalling, and a curated list of 15 to 20 investors who fit what you are building with approach strategies for each one.
If investors keep saying “not our thesis” or “come back with more traction” or just going quiet after a good meeting, that is a positioning problem and it is the only problem I solve.
More info at fundingdx.com.
60+ countries explored, Leica obsessive, quantum mechanics nerd. Still building, still investing, still figuring things out.
Writing
I write about what I have seen — in thirty years of building companies, in the funding market, and in the places most founders overlook.
Read the writing →Let's talk
I work with a small number of founders and companies at any one time. If you are building something and you think I should know about it, get in touch.
Get in touch →