I learned to code in my bedroom during high school, fueled by pure curiosity and the thrill of building something from nothing. That hacker mindset never left me; I'm still obsessed with understanding systems quickly and grinding through complex problems to ship products that matter.

My journey took me from Charles Schwab, where I joined for the innovation culture, to co-founding Swoovy and building Managerly from the ground up. But the real game-changer was stepping into venture capital as a Venture Fellow at Palm Venture Studios. There, I learned the brutal truth: business model and traction come first, platform and tech second.

I've seen too many brilliant technical teams build amazing products that never find market fit. That's why I now work as a fractional CTO. I'm helping companies operate with the same strategic mindset that VCs use to evaluate investments. I translate complex technical decisions into clear business value, because I know that understanding when to pivot (or when to run) can be the difference between a unicorn and a write-off.

My approach? Strategic guidance with hands-on coding. I get in the trenches with your team while keeping one eye on the bigger picture. I've helped clients achieve 5x growth in just a couple of years by focusing on the right problems at the right time.

The lesson I've learned: Never stop learning, but always start with the business fundamentals. Technology is a powerful enabler, but it's the market opportunity and execution that drive real growth.