Ventures
Actionworks: Education company that builds entrepreneurship and innovation programs for the U.S. Department of State, Intel, the University of Texas, and dozens more. Building with AI since 2019.
Minimum Viable Video: Cohort-based course on creating videos to get customers, connections, and capital.
Coaching: I help founders, engineers, and tech workers have more success with business and video.
(Previously) 3 Day Startup: 10-year CEO journey scaling an entrepreneurship bootcamp to 50 countries.
Personal
- My fiancé and I (and her ridiculous cats) split our time between Austin, TX and Savannah, GA
- Interests: LLMs, Formula 1, Mexican food, Alvvays, Nolan films, cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman’s theory of reality, Longhorn football
- I’m 5 years deep into writing a from-the-trenches newsletter of stories and tips on entrepreneurship, AI, and video
- I’ve had a hell of a lot easier time building companies than figuring out vulnerability; that came with Personal Boards of Directors
I manage a mysterious health condition—maybe you’ll be the one to diagnose it?RESOLVED!
Contact
DM me on X or email me at my name at actionworks dot co (not dot com).
Blog
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A Simple Rule for Managing Complexity: The Double Cushion
My favorite business school professor made good money managing extreme complexity: he oversaw consulting gigs involving multimillion dollar real estate purchases, factory operations with thousands of employees, and complicated mergers. He seemed to be able to see around corners.
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It’s Perfectly Fine that Origin Stories are Lies
Blockbuster charged Reed Hastings a $40 late fee, which inspired him to found Netflix. Pierre Omidyar’s wife wanted to trade Pez dispensers online so he spent a weekend building a side project that became eBay. On a trip to Paris, Uber founder Travis Kalanick found himself stranded in the rain for 20 minutes trying to hail a cab. These are all good stories. And they are all lies.
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Go Bigger When You Talk About Your Ideas
A distillation of a talk I gave to the founders of Odisea’s Acelera program, a deep tech startup accelerator in Latam, about why aiming high increases your odds to success.
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The Best Conference of the Year (So Far)
After some conferences I just want to sit in a dark room and vegetate. Voltage Control’s Facilitation Lab Summit 2025 was different. Despite having to exert zero effort at meeting people, I left with a boatload of valuable connections. And this is why I’m calling it now: this is the best thing I will attend in 2025.
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Centuries Old Wisdom in MrBeast’s Leaked Playbook
Unlike polished press releases or glossy marketing assets, leaked documents are raw and unfiltered. As such, they give us a glance at the inner workings of a company. Take, for instance, the leak of the MrBeast Guide to Production.
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When Your Uber Driver Asks You to Lie to the Police
After we landed and collected our bags in the Guadalajara airport, I called the Uber. As the driver loaded our bags into the car, his face tensed. Under his breath, he muttered, “Pretend we’re friends.” Before I could ask him what he meant, a cop from the Guardia Civil sidled up to the car. The Guardia Civil, a federal law enforcement agency in Mexico, is known for enforcing customs and airport rules with an authoritative presence.