About

This blog is about the intersection of startups, leadership, and education. For over 16 years, I’ve been around startups as a professor, consultant, and mentor. During that time, I’ve gained keen insight into how entrepreneurs pursue business opportunities, build companies, and create value.

Yes, I ran my own consulting business for eight of those years but what I learned from that doesn’t even compare to what I’ve learned working with hundreds of entrepreneurs and startups, in all industries from retail and food to manufacturing and technology. I’ve seen business models come and go, been through startup booms and busts, and watched founders go broke and hit the jackpot.

These days, I’m taking all that experience and applying it in a different way. I recently left the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at DePaul University, where I’ve taught for over ten years and have witnessed first-hand why we have a need for education reform.

That, combined with a market need for relevant and sophisticated education for emerging entrepreneurs, has resulted in the upcoming launch of The Junto Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Our purpose is to develop founders and entrepreneurs into CEOs and leaders, helping them improve their emotional intelligence, leadership capabilities, and operating skills.

At DePaul, I continue to teach as a Clinical Professor, teaching Business Model Development, Lean Startup, Entrepreneurship Strategy, and Corporate Entrepreneurship. I also continue to speak and blog, both in this space as well as for Crain’s Chicago Business. I’m so passionate about the subject that I even started, and continue to run, an entrepreneurship club at my daughters’ school.

When not working, I spend lots of time with my wife and kids, challenge myself with creating the perfect lawn, and continue trying to master the art of low-and-slow barbecue. I’m a baseball history buff, an indie rock junkie, and a mountain biking novice. I think my love for entrepreneurship stems from my fascination with the origins of almost everything.

I have an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.