Intro

I call myself a method scholar (borrowed from method acting), in that I spend my time immersed in a specific discipline or lifestyle for a predetermined period of time.

In the past few years, you could have caught me running product for a small health tech startup, living as an itinerary-free vagabond traveling for months on end, day trading multi-leg derivatives, reading countless books on ancient Stoic philosophy, or in an airport en route to a client health system. I've found that this deliberate, multi-disciplinary approach to life facilitates authentic, solution-oriented thinking and a deep sense of understanding-driven empathy.

In my work, I see through the eyes of an idealist but act with the discipline of a pragmatist. Barriers become catalysts that empower me to solve otherwise unarticulated problems.

Work

View my resume

Fight for Fair

Fight for Fair is a new nonprofit aimed at helping patients fight back against exorbitant medical and pharmacy bills by negotiating for fair and transparent prices.

Earn to Give

I founded Earn to Give out of a desire to make charitable giving more fun and cost-efficient. Organized as a 501(c)(3) sponsoring organization of Donor Advised Funds, Earn to Give is positioned to disrupt the DAF status quo of high fees, initial deposit requirements, limited investment options, and lack of resources dedicated to helping people identify causes and charities that matter most to them.

The Stoic Fellowship

In 2016, I co-founded The Stoic Fellowship, a multinational 501(c)(3) nonprofit that seeks to build, connect, and foster communities of people interested in an ancient Greek philosophy known as Stoicism. To date, we've helped build communities in over 100 locations spanning every continent. I serve as President and board member.

Compass Foundry

I founded Compass Foundry with a desire to help early stage entrepreneurs bootstrap profitable tech businesses with as little resistance as possible. The unfortunate first step for many founders today is to hire a dev shop to build an often unvetted idea for $50K+ or give away half their equity to hire a technical co-founder who may or may not share their passion for the idea. I figured there had to be a better way. Compass Foundry offers early stage founders an alternative.

Past Work & Projects

MyMeds

For five years, I led the product team at a health tech startup based in Minneapolis called MyMeds. MyMeds aims to improve health outcomes and reduce the overall cost of care by improving medication adherence. As Head of Product, I focused my energy at the intersection of our business strategy, technical vision, and user experience. I remain involved with the team as a stratgic advisor.

Fix Broadway

There used to be a 4-lane undivided street in NE Minneapolis called Broadway where the lanes were too narrow, crashes were common, pedestrians feared for their lives, and cyclists who rode it must have had a death wish. I worked with a task force of about 60 people under the monicker Fix Broadway to create improvements. We surveyed thousands of residents and commuters, met with city and county officials to discuss concerns, and co-designed solutions. In late 2019, our collaborative efforts culminated in the successful repaving and re-striping of the street. What was once one of the most dangerous thoroughfares in Minneapolis is now a more modern, safe, and efficient passage.

Accel.MN

Accel.MN was a totally free program for entrepreneurs to refine their ideas and be prompted into action in a collaborative setting. It was like a "pre-accelerator", or a program that would prepare people for a more traditional accelerator seeking to invest seed funding in exchange for equity in a startup. The mission of Accel.MN was to accelerate the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Minnesota by improving the collective education, network, and support of early-stage entrepreneurs while promoting a positive startup culture. In addition to participating in the first cohort, I served as a founding board member.

North Labs

I co-founded North Labs in 2016 with Collin Graves and Matt Otterstatter. Our mission was simple: provide non-technical founders with software development resources at a fraction of the cost that agencies and freelancers charge in today's market. To do this, I built relationships with over a dozen fully-vetted offshore firms while offering product management and technical architecture in-house. As with many of the companies we advised, North Labs pivoted in late 2017 to meet more lucrative demands with AWS consulting. With the pivot (and admittedly my lack of AWS knowledge), I decided to sell my ownership in North Labs and pursue new projects.

Eat and Greet

Eat and Greet flipped the traditional restaurant experience on its head. People generally go to restaurants with friends, family, or colleagues. With Eat and Greet, six individuals RSVPed to save a seat at a table ahead of time and left with a full belly and five new friends. These experiences were great for people who were new to a city and wanted to make new connections while trying local restaurants. The idea was in MVP stage as I tested concepts with a Meetup community. If successful, I planned to build it into a full product with the mission of connecting people hungry for food, friendship, and thought-provoking conversation.

MNonFIRE

MNonFIRE is a community I founded for people who aspire to FIRE, or become financially independent and retire early. The FIRE movement is picking up traction across the nation, and I wanted to create a forum for people to meet in real life and share resources and insights. Core to this ethos is that our time is the most precious finite resource. Thus we do everything we can to create a life for ourselves in which we have the freedom to choose how we spend that time, even if that means attaining a 50%+ or greater savings rate by living significantly below our means.

Stoic Daily

I launched a micro tech project with Zach Foster. Stoic Daily is a Chrome extension that changes "new tabs" into beautiful natural settings with an embedded quote from a Stoic author.

Travel

I've found long-term travel to be an efficient promoter of rapid self-improvement. It's helped me identify and correct bad habits, prioritize life goals, and more fully empathize with people of backgrounds radically different from my own.

Map of My Travels

See full screen

Long-Term Trips

  • Ireland in Summer 2009

    • I studied Irish film at Trinity College in Dublin during a two-month summer term.

  • Central America in 2011 and 2014

    • In 2011, I backpacked down the Pacific coast of Costa Rica with a longtime friend, Matt Momont.

    In 2014, I took my parents on a surprise adventure to Panama.

  • Europe in 2014

    • I had the opportunity to visit over 20 countries in Europe over the course of four months with my good friend from college, Zach Foster.

    Cities Visited: Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Florence, Rome, Venice, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, Prague, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Sarajevo.

  • South America in 2017

    • I worked remotely for five weeks while hiking through Patagonia and the Atacama desert in Argentina and Chile with successful food entrepreneur and workout buddy, Erik Greene.

    Cities Visited: Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, El Calafate, El Chalten, Puerto Natales, Santiago, San Pedro de Atacama, Mendoza.

  • Europe in 2018

    • My fiancĂ©e, Jackie, and I worked remotely for two months while visiting some of the less-traveled parts of Europe and witnessing the marriage of two close friends in Prague.

    Cities Visited: London, Berlin, Prague, Munich, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas, Warsaw, Heraklion, Apostoli, Thessaloniki, Kalambaka/Meteora, Athens, Nafplio, Lisbon.

  • Europe in 2019

    • I embarked on another journey through some unvisited locations in Europe, this time focusing more on nature in the beautiful Alps and the Balkans.

    Cities Visited: Milan, Cinque Terre, Florence, Innsbruck, Nuremburg, Prague, Berlin, Cologne, Bamberg, Linz, Bad Aussee, Hallstatt, Bled, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade, Novi Sad, Budapest, Edinburgh, Inverness, Keflavik.

  • USA Road Trip in 2022

    • Jackie and I hit the open road and left our quarantine bubble behind. Our goal was to hike some of the best trails and drink some of the best beer. Mission accomplished!

    Cities Visited: Fort Collins, Taos, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Tucson, Sedona, Grand Canyon Village, Orderville, Fruita, Boulder

    Parks Visited: Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, White Sand Dunes, Saguaro, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches

Contact