Update, April 2026: I've stepped into an in-house investing role and am no longer taking on new consulting engagements. The content below reflects how I've worked — and the thinking still stands. I hope it helps you on your way. The Top Line → What: I support ambitious, mission-driven people and ventures on their way . Usually this means helping them straighten out the path from where they are to where they want to go. → Why: Ideally "impact alpha" aka creating a lock-step

At an event last night, I was reminded to share (again) 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.” Most people are genuinely happy to help you 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺. Just make it easy! 🔗 This is a great guide : ✍️ 𝗔𝗻𝗱, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 👇 --- Subject: Intro to [Connection Name] Hi Laurie, Thanks so much for offering to introduce me to [connection]. I’m interested to connect because [they are interested in

If you're a founder or funder curious about what kinds of funding might be right for you, check out Capital Explorer , a free tool that will help you discover which of up to 16 different financing options might be right for you ! Capital Explorer is one of several free tools from Village Capital that help entrepreneurs on their way to building scalable, mission-driven businesses worldwide -- including with aligned financing sources. Here's a nifty preview. Want more support?

*I wrote the following background in the fall of 2021, from the HQ of UpSurge Baltimore where I was just starting as a Entrepreneur In Residence with Techstars in their Equitech portfolio. Since then, I've worked formally with Techstars and many other funds in the US, UK, and UAE as a Senior Advisor and Operating Partner to founders in their programs and portfolios. Whether you're looking for a quick orientation ( The Skinny ) or to go more in-depth ( The Whole Enchilada ),

If You Build It… Late in 2022, I was on a Zoom with my friend and colleague Maria Pope , who at the time was running community at Republic. She asked a simple question: “What are you going to at SXSW?” My honest answer was: “Eh... seems like kind of a tech bro scene. I just don’t see something for me. So… nothing?” If you know Maria, you know there's always a follow-up challenge: “OK, but what would you want to go to?” Without overthinking it, I blurted out with gusto: "Some

👋 Oh hey, it's me again with a friendly reminder to #flipthescript about investing in female founders and mixed teams. Among the very good and actionable recommendations made by Startup Coalition in their latest report , I also suggest a narrative reframe ➡️ 🛑 stop putting the onus on female founders 💡 start putting the onus on investors Sincere s/o to Isabella Rhodes , Vinous Ali , & Jordan Sullivan for authoring this report so we can keeping moving this work forw

As a follow up to this #flipthescript post last week, I've been thinking about: “𝗙𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 ‘𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁” 🤔 ➡️ It just doesn’t work for me. Instead of empowering, I feel like an imposter – after all, “fake” is literally in the prompt! Instead, what I’ve found helpful is this little tweak: “𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲 it ‘til you make it”. The swap of this one little letter helps me remember that I can 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰�

Are you an early-stage founder trying to figure out the right amount of equity to bring aboard an advisor to your startup? Don't try to cut your own hair! Instead, I've included a handy-dandy template* below so you don't have to figure this out from a blank sheet of paper! *This is not legal advice & should only be considered a guide to help you prep the conversation with the advisor and formalize any agreements your lawyer. You're welcome! ⬇️ Click on the image below or ➡️ c