Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Our lives are filled with amazing moments that touch our hearts and make us who we are. Many involve the people we love in groups like families, companies, teams and clubs. Telling stories about those consequential times has the capacity to inform, connect and sustain people. Knowing that we belong and matter--hearing it from the others in our group, especially those we value most--can enhance self esteem, strengthen relationships, and improve group cohesion. But sharing the most meaningful stories requires a way to capture details and imagery from all the people in a group, regardless of how many or where they are--and that's just hard, even with technology. Groups are complicated and uncovering the most important parts of a story requires skill and experience that most people don't have. That’s why we invented GroupStory™, a software platform designed specifically for groups to share their stories. Our approach is grounded in science, implemented by software, enabled by AI, and supported by two U.S. patents.
Provided and executed strategic advice for a variety of early stage ventures that needed expertise with securing product / market fit; obtaining sufficient customer acquisition; developing a viable go-to-market strategy; refining the business model; and securing capital.
Conducted the market research necessary to uncover large, unmet needs in the K-12 market. Crafted the vision, developed a business plan, and recruited a management team from the educational publishing and college software industries. Secured the angel investors, service providers, and strategic venture capitalists that invested over $15 million in funding. Launched the nation’s first safe, teacher-vetted, Internet search engine for kids, netTrekker. In a market that can be cynical and slow to adopt, it became a trusted brand and served almost 90 million students before being sold to ACT, Inc. in 2018. In addition to receiving an Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Company designation in 2007 and numerous other prestigious industry awards, netTrekker received the 2010 EdNET Impact Award for having the most significant, positive impact on education.
Led business development efforts in fully developed countries for Vera Laboratories, a bulk pharmaceutical chemical manufacturer in Hyderbad, India. In under two years, secured contracts in four countries that increased company sales by 10 times to over $30 million.
Worked across numerous disciplines within a master-planned real estate developer, instrumental in closing multi-million dollar commercial real estate sales at record prices; conducted extensive market research; participated in debt structuring with regional banks and G.E. Capital; developed state-of-the-art project financial analysis that were integrated with real-time accounting; and participated in acquisition underwriting for large land holdings sold by the U.S. Resolution Trust Corporation.