I built and operated businesses long before I began advising them.

I started by building companies in environments where there were no clear playbooks, no stable markets, and no safety nets. Radio communications hardware. Security systems. Early internet infrastructure. Last-mile networks. Digital platforms.

When you build in those conditions, mistakes are not theoretical. They show up in cash flow, in operational failures, in regulatory pressure, and in lost clients. You learn quickly that growth does not forgive flawed assumptions.

Over time, I became less interested in frameworks and more interested in signal quality — what actually drives outcomes, and what only looks convincing on paper.

Today, I work with founders and investors at moments where decisions start to become hard to reverse.

• Scaling too early.
• Hiring a senior leader.
• Raising capital.
• Entering a new market.
• Acquiring a company.
• Committing to a structural shift.

Most of these decisions do not look obviously wrong at the time. The deck makes sense. The numbers add up. The narrative is persuasive. Teams are aligned.

And yet, something is slightly off.

That “slightly” is usually where the real risk hides.