Advisory

Advisory & Consulting

I build internal incubator/accelerator programs around the world (including Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Rome, and remote), getting companies to solve problems that they couldn’t in other ways. Building these programs I unlock new revenue and partnership opportunities for large organizations. These programs build autonomy and skills that keep employee retention high in an era when companies need to maintain their top talent.

I generally work with large organizations and funded startups, typically in these formats.

  • Building an incubator or accelerator,
  • Company workshops and speaking engagements,
  • Individual advisory.

Contact here to discuss.

Who is this for?

This is for you if you fit any of these profiles:

  • You’re part of a corporate team charged with continuing to innovate and out-perform competitors,
  • You’re part of a funded startup, care about results and need perspective and objective analysis of results as you grow,
  • You’re looking for an experienced speaker on different models for entrepreneurship.

Guidance makes a big difference in success rates. I bring my deep understanding of company growth from advising over 200 companies.

Highlights

  • I have built and led startup accelerators and incubators on three continents. I was Founding Director of the first startup accelerator in Hong Kong (portfolio exit), Founding Director of USC’s startup incubator (portfolio exits), Program Director of the Laudato Si startup accelerator in Rome, and Director of the community health incubator at Volunteers of America.
  • Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship (that means I’m a practitioner, not an academic) at USC. Created and teaches USC’s only class on growth marketing and startup launchpad courses.

Sample client projects

  • Built a community health incubator for a large non-profit,
  • Ran a product development bootcamp followed by months of biweekly check-ins for a large consumer products company developing a new product, shortening the concept-to-customer timeline from 24 months down to 3 months,
  • Improved customer lifetime value for a software company. Based on customer data we assessed their current state and enacted several changes that increased customer margins,
  • Reduced customer acquisition costs for a communications app. We calculated the customer acquisition costs of each acquisition channel and the corresponding lifetime values. This enabled our client to focus resources where they had the greatest impact,
  • Growth strategy for a transportation app. Helped grow an international transportation app to the point where a global competitor acquired them,
  • Improved customer upgrades to premium for a mobile app developer. Identified which free users of a mobile app with millions of downloads were most likely to upgrade. Our client then targeted these users selectively in order to increase revenue,
  • Growth and funding for a startup building machine learning for the fashion industry and focusing on popular fashion bloggers,
  • Customer conversions and funding for a virtual reality startup focused on medical training content.

Contact here to discuss.

Sample Workshops

ACCELERATING INNOVATION IN THE ENTERPRISE

When evaluating large companies in a changing environment, we often hear stories about how startups innovate. These stories can be misleading and unhelpful to larger companies. I have helped hundreds of startups grow across multiple accelerator and incubator programs around the world and in advising relationships. I also teach entrepreneurship at USC in Los Angeles. But I’ve also worked in Fortune 100 companies as an employee and as a consultant. Innovating in the enterprise is different.

In this workshop, we value the difference between established businesses and startups. I then take what we can learn from the startup world and show you how to apply this learning internally. You will leave the workshop with methods that will help you test product concepts quickly and reduce your product roll-out time.

Format: ​Full Day Workshop

This program is perfect for:

  • All levels of management at corporates and non-profits

The audience will leave with:

  • ​A playbook that they can tailor to their own needs

Contact here to book.

BUILDING COMPANIES WHILE RUNNING STARTUP ACCELERATORS ON THREE CONTINENTS

From Hong Kong, to Los Angeles, to the Vatican, to remote. How running four very different startup accelerators over eight years changed the way I think about entrepreneurship. Multiple program formats, 150+ companies, hundreds of millions in funding, lots of customers, and exits, all across three continents. The workshop focuses on:

  • Commonalities faced by growing companies across locations.
  • Getting results: How I try to “trick” people into learning.
  • Next steps in thinking about the future of company growth.

Format: ​half-day workshop

This program is perfect for:

  • Corporates and large non-profits that want to bring in more internal entrepreneurial thinking and activity
  • ​Municipalities that want to encourage more entrepreneurship and innovation in their location
  • Universities that want to help students, alumni, and faculty/staff to build businesses

The audience will leave with:

  • Detailed examples from my experience in very different entrepreneurial environments
  • A playbook that they can tailor for their own individual situation

Contact here to book.