About Me
How I Started
After graduating from Elon University in North Carolina, I landed my dream job in the front office of the Boston Bruins. I became quickly disenchanted with working in sports and left to chase the almighty dollar. I spent some time trading commodities before really cutting my teeth in the business development world. Before start-up world, I led a sales team for an enterprise resource planning consulting firm called EdgeRock. It was an important step for me to understand how the game of business is played and where opportunity exits. I was still only 26 when I decided to jump head first into developing my own ventures.
Start-Ups and Innovation Economy
From the very first time I created a venture, I was hooked. My first venture, LeanBox, was a creation meant to solve problems I had faced directly in the workforce. We created a smart refrigerator for corporate break rooms aimed at providing access to fresh, health food and beverages on the go. While running LeanBox for a decade, I found myself with more opportunities then I knew what to do with. We ended up creating a holding company that had Grind Coffee (office coffee service), Back Bay Roasters (cold brew coffee brand and private label facility), Perks Convention (non-traditional HR convention), among other things. Despite seemingly different avenues, all these companies played nicely with each other and gave me exposure to different style ventures.
A Desire to Give Back
Nothing fires me up like being involved in a strategy session for a start-up. I’ve spent the last ten years serving on multiple advisory boards. I was a judge and mentor at Mass Challenge and took part in many of the various groups tied to the Boston start-up scene. My goal has always been to give freely what was so graciously given to me by mentors and friends that came before me.
Current Interests
As a serial founder, my interest are always bouncing around to various opportunities. I keep a finger on the pulse of where change and innovation is occurring and I like to get myself right in the middle of it all. Currently, I’m interested in:
- All cannabis-related ventures, particularly beverage
- CPG in the better for you category
- Non-alc bev space
- Venture / fund space
- Green tech
- Home maintenance/home improvement
- Mental health and meditation
