This is my long-form bio that tells the narrative of my career in reverse chronological order.
Born in St. Petersburg, FL, raised in Atlanta, GA and based in Portland, OR, I am a servant leader, entrepreneur, writer, optimist, outdoor enthusiast, and Christian (Catholic). Personally I am a husband to my beautiful and talented wife, Nicole, and father to my two sons, Everett and Paxton. Professionally I am a writer and executive coach serving founders and creators working to build a better world.
My work is driven by my fundamental belief that business is one of the most powerful forces for good in the world. Everyday I try to spread that philosophy through my work as a writer, podcaster, executive coach, and volunteer. But in the end, I care most about building meaningful relationships and creating memorable experiences with the people I care about.
Career
From August 2021 to March 2023, I took an 18 month journey to recover from burnout, heal past pain that had settled into depression, and recover the heart of who I am. I now think of that process as coming home to myself and surrendering to what is my work to do while trusting others to take on the rest. For too long I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders, as if any one person could possibly solve the world’s pain. Now I know that trusting and supporting others in doing their work as I do mine is a much more sustainable way to tackle the problems we face as a society.
I conducted three important career experiments during my journey from August 2021 to founding my coaching business in March 2023:
- I teamed up with Seth Godin to serve as Managing Editor of The Carbon Almanac, a bestselling book of foundational facts about climate change rooted in hope for a better future. I rallied a team of 300 volunteers from initial outline to delivered manuscript in just under six months under Seth’s leadership as founder of the project.
- I joined my friends at Good Coffee for six months of joy and delight working as COO of a thoughtful, growing specialty coffee company.
- I made one more foray into technology startups by joining a Portland-based renewable energy startup making clean energy devices for the open ocean. It was the last experience I needed to convince me my path forward is as an entrepreneur.
From 2016-2021, I helped build Convertkit, first as Director of Marketing for 1.5 years and then as COO for 3.5 years. During that time we grew the company from $3M-$28M ARR in service of our mission to help creators — authors, musicians, chefs, filmmakers, comedians, YouTubers, and every creator in between — earn a living doing work they love. I had accountability for all of the core metrics of the company and responsibility for engineering, sales, marketing, customer success, data, and operations. At the time of my departure, 65 of our 75 people reported up to me through the executive team. I stepped down in August 2021 to recover from burnout and depression driven by leading through the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2014-2016, I led customer success and then growth and marketing at Fizzle, where we were on a mission build the best place on the web for aspiring entrepreneurs to find the training and community they need to build a sustainable small business.
In 2011, I took my first leap as an entrepreneur when I founded a company called Living for Monday. We were on a mission to change the way the world thinks about work by helping young professionals build the skills necessary to grow in their careers. We worked with individuals and organizations through consulting, coaching, and training to help build strong cultures and high performing individual contributors. While leading Living for Monday, I gave more than 10 keynote presentations, wrote a blog that generated over 350,000 unique visitors to LivingforMonday.com in our final year, and had my work featured around the web. I also built a career search curriculum entitled Career Kickstarter to help college students and young professionals find their first or next purpose-driven job. I coached more than 40 college students through the career search curriculum, as well as coaching many entrepreneurs to help them achieve breakthrough business results.
I interned for Seth Godin in the summer of 2013. Seth has gone on to be one of the most influential mentors and teachers in my life. Our team of 16 interns built and launched Krypton Community College, a project designed to transform the way communities learn and grow together after our formal education has come to an end.
Finally, I started my career at EY (formerly Ernst & Young), where I served as a staff consultant in the finance sub-service line of the Performance Improvement practice. I served multiple Fortune 500 clients and led an implementation team of three to transform the tax documentation processes at a Fortune 5 corporation. I was one of less than five staffers in the Atlanta office at the time.
Qualifications and Awards
I am currently pursuing certification in Presence Based Coaching.
I am pursuing certification in the Highlands Ability Battery.
I was the managing editor of a bestselling book.
The Inc 5000 honored ConvertKit as the #72 fastest growing private company in 2018, #23 in 2019, and #1,329 in 2020.
In 2014, I gave a TEDx talk that honored my work to that point in my career (and highlights how much I’ve grown since then).
Education
I graduated from the University of Georgia with a BBA in Accounting, a BBA in Banking & Finance, and a Certificate in Personal & Organizational Leadership. There I served in various student leadership positions, including as a Leonard Leadership Scholar, President of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, Orientation Leader, Dawg Camp Director of Recruitment, President of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and Executive Board Member for Order of Omega Honor Society. Additionally, I studied abroad at University of Oxford, where I received a first-rate education that ignited my intellectual curiosity and continues to fuel my efforts today.
Non-Profit and Philanthropy
I serve as the Community Champion for the Northwest region of the Global Shapers, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, founded to bring together the brightest young professional minds in cities around the world to create projects to address community opportunities and challenges. In this role, I mentor eight young leaders as they lead their groups to make local change.
From 2013-2015, I served as the curator for the Atlanta Global Shapers . After moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2015, I joined the Portland, Oregon hub of Global Shapers from 2015-2017.
I previously served as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Camp Horizon, a nonprofit on a mission to restore dignity and hope to children in foster care who have been abused and neglected through summer camp and year-round programming.
Personal Interests
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my wife and sons, community of friends, and our two dogs. I love being outdoors skiing, hiking, fishing, and camping. I value time spent reading, writing, gardening, hosting dinner parties, working out, and traveling.
My Values
As a Christian, I’m always seeking a better understanding of what God put me on Earth to do. I try my best to honor that first, but it’s a never-ending challenge.
I define myself by my values and beliefs. I try to use those beliefs to filter my words, decisions, and actions. My values include:
- Honor my family with presence
- Lead through service and vulnerability
- Use business as a force for good
- Demand creative excellence
- Advocate for people less fortunate than me
- Care for my mind, body, and soul
- Be a steward of the natural world
- Have hope for the future
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for being interested in my story and background. If it makes sense for you, consider subscribing to receive my writing on using business as a force for good.