Don't be content building a model car.Build the real thing.
Most tools will happily build you a website for a business that shouldn't exist. I'll tell you whether yours should — before you spend a year finding out.
Who I am
I've spent twenty-seven years on one question: will this actually sell?
At Schneider Electric, I worked with consumer retail giants growing Gateway's retail channel from $9M to $23M in one year. Built partner programs with Apple, Intel and Red Hat. Managed large datacenter and HVAC installations. Then I got tired. Not tired of the work. Tired of being the passenger and not the pilot. I migrated from corporate life to small cap excitement. At SRC Solutions, I led business development and product direction from under $250K in annual sales to an eight-figure exit in five years. As President of Unusual Machines my mandate was to get the company ready for public markets — we achieved that goal, and that was my exit.
You must always know your exit before you start. Goal projection is the key to a successful start.
Today I'm CEO of buildArI.ai, CEO of birby.live, on the board of Rellaire, Inc., and a partner in several other ventures.
“One of the least-flashy but most hard-working and results-producing biz dev people I have ever had the pleasure to work with.”
The mistake that built this
In 2009, I took ASI Inc. from nine customers to more than five hundredin K-12 education. When I asked the CEO for a stake in what I'd built, he told me to go do the same thing in healthcare.
He wasn't wrong to say no. I was wrong to ask at the end. I forgot to project my goal to myself and others.
Four years creating the value, none of it defining what my share looked like. No milestones, no trigger, nothing in writing. I assumed that if I delivered, the conversation would take care of itself. It doesn't — my mantra is leverage the leverage you have at the moment. This goes from small business to big business, from vendor relations to corporate exit strategy. Leverage is leverage.
I left, joined SRC Solutions, Inc. a company doing under $250K a year, and helped take it to an eight-figure exit. With terms agreed up front. I have never looked back.
What you get
- Every-other-week 1:1
- With me. Not a group call, not a replay.
- Message me between calls
- As often as you need. Stuck on Tuesday, answered Tuesday — you are not sitting on a problem for two weeks.
- AdvisorI and cAlIbrate included
- The tools that answer “is there a customer” and “what do I do Monday”.
- Ten places
- More than that and I'm not actually helping anyone.
Six stages. You’ll always know the next one.
Most founders can't say where they are, so everything feels equally urgent. These put you somewhere specific. Each one is finished when a single checkable thing is true — not when you feel ready, and not because you showed up.
- 1
Validated
Someone who can actually spend money has told you they'd buy it.
Finished when: Five conversations with people who could sign off the purchase themselves. Not friends, and not “that sounds great”.
- 2
Specified
It's written down clearly enough that somebody else could build it.
Finished when: A developer could read it and start work without calling you to ask what you meant.
- 3
Structured
The business exists properly, and who owns what is settled in writing.
Finished when: Company formed and ownership documented — including what happens to someone's shares if they leave. That is what vesting and an 83(b) election are for.
- 4
Live
A stranger can use it without you there to explain it.
Finished when: A link you can send to someone who has never met you, and they get through it unaided.
- 5
Earning
Someone who doesn't care about your feelings has paid you.
Finished when: One payment from a person who isn't a friend or family.
- 6
Operating
It keeps happening without you pushing it uphill.
Finished when: Three months in a row with revenue.
Most founders aren't past Stage 1 yet, and that is completely normal. The value is finding that out in a week instead of a year.
Founding cohort — first ten members
$997/month
Rises to $1,497 after the founding ten. Cancel anytime.
Apply for a place →By application. I only take people I think I can actually help.
Apply for a place
Five questions, one at a time. Takes about a minute. I read every one myself.