Backstory

I started my professional journey at 10 years old when my brother and I took our life savings ($800 earned by digging out snowed-in cars on the streets of Saint Paul, MN) and bought our first PC. In addition to countless hours of Ultima Online and Doom, I spent my screen time doodling in CorelDraw, and scanning pictures of my little sister so I could turn her hair blue and give her a big nose using the pinch filter in Photoshop.

When my oldest brother opened a digital print shop, I started spending every night and weekend hanging out there, apprenticing under the designers and technicians who kindly tolerated my incessant pestering. By my mid-teens, I had taught myself web development and had started developing sites for local businesses.

I tried to squeeze in college, taking classes for two years at SMC in LA, but it was hard to focus on school when I was already an independent working professional.

By my mid-20s, I had co-founded an internet company, art directed a surf magazine in Hawaii, and was working at one of the top ad agencies in the country as a studio artist. Through those early years, I developed a deep passion for design and customer collaboration. Nothing lights me up more than walking into a new project, listening to a customer explain their business or big idea, then coming back with a product that exceeds their imagination and expectations.

Product Philosophy

My approach to product and innovation was shaped by those early experiences and honed through two decades in tech.

I try to walk into every project with a beginner’s mind, assuming nothing, asking questions (to colleagues, customers, and through data) to make sure I have a full understanding of the products purpose, current status, customer perception, and competitive landscape. My goal is always to strip a product down to its first principles to get the full picture and tease out the ever elusive “why”.

Once that’s clear, I work to define what the “perfect” solution would look like from the customer’s perspective. That vision becomes our North Star, not constrained by current feasibility or industry norms, but instead helping the team think bigger. Business objectives, constraints, and competitive context need to be accounted for, but I don’t believe they should shape the core vision, which should always focus on customer value. From there, it’s a process of iteration and experimentation that is always anchored in clarity, simplicity, and empathy for the user.

Leadership & Collaboration

I grew up with eight brothers and sisters and played team sports my whole life. Those experiences taught me the power of collaboration, and that nothing truly great is built alone.

Throughout my career, I’ve tried to create that same sense of shared purpose and trust within the teams I’ve worked with. Great teams start with a compelling vision, something that makes builders excited to show up every day. Trust is built by giving talented people the space to do their best work, while also cultivating a culture of accountability to each other and the mission.

I’m more proud of the teams I’ve built than any product I’ve shipped. Shared success is far sweeter than individual achievement.

Business Acumen

I got my MBA on the job, sitting in boardrooms and executive strategy sessions since I was 19. Since then I’ve been a co-founder of a Sequoia backed startup (later becoming CEO of a 150 with employees), a senior product leader at Amazon, and an executive at global online retailer overseeing a +100-person org with a $20M+ annual budget. I’ve led operational planning, go-to-market strategy, competitive analysis, sales, engineering, fundraising, investor relations, executive presentations, contract negotiations, press/media strategy, and business development.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of learning from a number of incredible mentors, and from my own (sometimes painful) experiences. All of which inform my product strategy work ensuring that vision, and business value are inextricably linked.

Personal Life

Outside of work, I’m a dad to two incredible boys Kieran, (21) and Maceo (15). Everything I do centers around being the best father and role model I can be.

I’m deeply passionate about sport (surfing, snowboarding, basketball, football), photography, cooking, writing, and acting. I studied comedic improv at The Groundlings School in Los Angeles for four years, and still draw on those lessons of listening, presence, and timing in everything I do.

I currently split my time between Truckee, CA and Los Angeles.