About

Almost everything I do is at the multi-faceted intersection of entrepreneurship and addiction recovery. And yes I like to laugh and have fun too 🙂

My entrepreneurial activities began in elementary school. I then spent my teens and early 20s in active addiction. Near death experiences, homelessness and unemployability were the norm. In 1998 a program of recovery and a formal introduction to entrepreneurship saved my life.

Professionally I’ve spent the last 20+ years working closely with startups and other entrepreneurs. Since 2000 my investment and transaction experience has totaled over $1 Billion (VC, PE and Real Estate). I later led professional services practices generating over $250MM in revenue. I invest in people, companies and communities in order to make a difference. I earned a BS and an MBA in Entrepreneurship with honors from the global leader in entrepreneurship education.

I founded Vanscend, a nonprofit that brings entrepreneurship to people for free. I love economic empowerment, helping underdogs to overcome, the Great Outdoors, good reggae music, pitbulls, cookouts, campervans and roadtrips.

Childhood

  • Born at a very young age 🙂
  • In grade school I discovered my artistic and mathematic abilities
  • I also found myself, without knowing it, engaging in a variety of entrepreneurial activities like buying and selling baseball cards, wax pack stickers and comics; creating my own artwork and selling it, and more.
  • I ran away from home a lot - starting in elementary school and continuing through high school
  • At 13 I got drunk for the first time
  • At 14 I tried my first drug
  • By 15 I was drinking and drugging daily
  • At 17 I was expelled from high school for most of my senior year. Luckily I graduated.
  • At 18 I entered my first rehab and was introduced to recovery.

Recovery

  • From the ages of 18-23 I was in and out of treatment centers, homeless shelters and hospitals. Like so many others - I am lucky to be alive.
  • I eventually found true sobriety on June 28, 1998 which continues to this day.
  • During that first year of recovery I found a book about Entrepreneurship and it changed me forever.
  • A program of recovery and entrepreneurship have been my biggest driving forces for the last 20+ years.
  • Sobriety is my priority and entrepreneurship is my prosperity.
  • With a deep commitment to, and love for, the recovery community I make myself available to be helpful in ways that are unconditional - which is exactly what was done for me.

Entrepreneurship

  • I discovered entrepreneurship was multi-faceted: I could start businesses, I could help others to, I could work with startups, I could teach others about entrepreneurship, I could help companies make their cultures more entrepreneurial, and more.
  • Entrepreneurial activities began in grade school and continued from there - back then I was an entrepreneur and I didn't even know it.
  • When the dot com bubble burst, the VC fund where I worked shuttered, so I pivoted to consulting, initially as a solopreneur. I helped Founders, CEOs, CFOs and VCs with restructuring the capital stack in startups and with sourcing new capital in the post dot com environment.
  • Prior to the Great Recession I started investing in real estate and equities.
  • During the Great Recession I again pivoted to consulting where I helped management and investors with restructuring and recapitalizing a variety of businesses and assets. The total volume of transactions I closed was well over $1B.
  • Just before the pandemic, I launched a nonprofit called Vanscend which makes Entrepreneurship more accessible to underserved and underrepresented populations.
  • And more. I continue to earn entrepreneurial income through consulting, coaching, workshops, speaking, ecommerce and investing.

Career

  • Worked at a seed stage VC fund during the dot com bubble and bust.
  • Obtained my (then) dream job at GE Capital through one of their esteemed leadership programs. Was consistently a top performer at GE - and ranked #1 of 100+ employees in my business unit during 2006.
  • Became the first employee at Deloitte to be promoted to Managing Director within a year of joining the firm.
  • Numerous times I have formulated and driven execution of successful growth strategies in professional services firms focused on startups – two of which were Big 4 firms.
  • In total I have grown, turned around and started practices from scratch nearly 10 times.

Education

  • College was not an option early in life. Besides financial constraints I was also deeply confused about what path to pursue. I originally enrolled in graphic design, then biomedical engineering, and then switched to business. I did well in almost all these courses - but discovering I didn't like the career prospects associated with some of them was key.
  • Earned a BS and MBA in Entrepreneurship both from Babson College, with honors, and while working. For over 20 years Babson has been the #1 ranked school for entrepreneurship education globally.
  • After college I paid off six figures in student loans along with all other debt - and since then I only use leverage in real estate and business.
  • I have come to understand that learning is a lifelong endeavor. I routinely buy courses to keep learning. I certainly learned a lot while I was in school – but I have learned MUCH more since then.

Passions

  • I love cross country road trips, National Parks and the Great Outdoors.
  • I am a huge fan of various kinds of music, but especially love reggae and dancehall. I love music, cultures and cuisine from throughout the Caribbean.
  • I enjoy recreation vehicles and currently have a custom converted Sprinter van which has allowed me to live and work while mobile - and to see the world in the most amazing way.
  • I love helping people to turn their lives around, to pivot, or to start over all together.
  • Over 10 years ago I took an interest in animal welfare after adopting my first pitbull. I now have a second. My pitbulls have been remarkable copilots in life 🙂
  • I love Entrepreneurship as a set of tools, a way of life and mindset. Entrepreneurship not only gives people passion and purpose but it can also save lives.