What I Do: I serve as a strategic adviser and on boards of directors and advisory boards. I advise investors and CEOs and executive teams, sales teams and build advisory boards as business development engines. My expertise includes innovation, governance, succession planning, mergers & acquisitions, team building, strategic planning, turnarounds and reorganization.
I specialize in turnaround situations. My experience in building six for-profit companies and helping to launch two non-profit organizations allows me to help management overcome challenges that may seem daunting to them. My wide range of contacts allows me to tap into substantial pools of resources – including senior executives, highly effective professionals and sources of financial support.
An effective leader and innovator, I blend academic research with hands-on management expertise. I have a record of successful innovation in a variety of industries including technology transfer, film financing, property investment and management, team building and leadership, board design/population and management, management/team/board assessment and executive/leadership/team coaching. (Recent Engagements)
What Attracts My Interest: Two of my very favorite engagements are helping others build their business and building teams that accomplish great things. Some of my most rewarding experiences have been creating opportunities for highly motivated people and watching them enjoy successes that they never thought they might.
I work as a senior adviser to investors and CEOs because I believe that hard problems can be solved – it’s just a matter of finding the right approach, resources and team to solve them. When it comes to overcoming tough challenges, there is no substitute for experience and proven judgment. I have worked with investors and CEOs that were stuck – unable to find a way forward. Once the way is cleared, watching them succeed is a real ‘Rocky Mountain High’!
I build advisory boards as business development engines because I discovered that they are by far the best way to drive the gross revenue of a company. I built the first ones for my own companies. My book, Amazing Pace: Turbocharged Business Development describes these boards.
I have also published Dream Walk: Parables for the Living – Zen stories for the present.
Who I am: I am a proven entrepreneur, seasoned senior executive, political and social theorist, published author and speaker. A veteran of Wall Street, I have founded two non-profit and six for-profit companies.
My experience includes designing and organizing companies, business/technology management, team building, strategic alliances, negotiating complex arrangements, governance & compliance, resourcing & financing, mergers & acquisitions, management/team/board assessment, coaching and strategic and tactical planning and implementation.
I received a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Texas and a Masters of Management Science from the Alfred P. Sloan School at MIT. In 1996 I was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy by the Department of Government and International Studies, Strathclyde University, Glasgow Scotland with a focus in political and social theory and comparative cultural analysis. Subsequently I taught advanced political and social theory as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Government, University of Birmingham in England.
I am available for radio and TV appearances, panels, seminars, speeches, key-note addresses, book signings and as a subject-matter expert. I am also a motivational speaker who combines humor with lots of content. Contact me with details on your event and needs.
Featured Articles
Conversations with Investors – Chapter One
In this series of articles, I will describe several discussions that I had with investors in the Washington DC area. They range from angel investors to senior partners in well established funds. I have known most of them for many years. That allowed us to cut through the usual PR crap and get to the heart of the process of reviewing investment opportunities. When I told them that my objective was to provide a series of articles which would help companies seeking funding, each was very willing to help – it is, after all, in their interest to improve the process. I owe each of them a debt of thanks for agreeing to sit down and ‘open the kimono’ so to speak. Read the rest of this entry »
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Conversations with Investors – Chapter Two
Every investor is different – they have different backgrounds and approaches to the process. This is one of the greatest lessons that founders need to learn. Each investor has a common characteristic – they have money to invest. But their life and business experiences are always more important than their bank balance. Read the rest of this entry »
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Conversations with Investors – Chapter Three
Novak Biddle Venture Partners was established in 1997 to provide equity financing and assistance to the management of young, information technology companies. NBVP provides equity financing and assistance to the management of early-stage, information technology companies principally located in the Mid-Atlantic region. It is backed by a number of the country’s most prestigious limited partners, and has over $580 million under management. They seek investment opportunities where the combination of ideas, dollars, experience, and relationships can create long-term, sustainable value. While they believe that the vast majority of business plans they receive have the makings of viable companies, they are looking for additional key features in the businesses in which they invest. Read the rest of this entry »
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An Alternative to the Money Chase
One of the most frustrating things about getting a business off the ground, up and running, is the money chase. There seems to be no end to the meetings without tangible results or the polite ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’ responses to a polished and passionate presentation. I regularly encounter founders who are at the end of their rope and absolutely certain that potential investors have simply been toying with them in some perverse game of cat and mouse. Their teams are disintegrating, creditors are knocking then pounding on the door and the future looks bleaker each day. Worse, the time spent in the money chase has bled effort and resources away from building out the team and refining the business plan. It is sad that this is such a frequently occurring experience. It is even sadder that it does not have to be that way at all. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Money Chase: Oil and Water
Very few entrepreneurs take the time to really study their company from the perspective of an investor. Those that do are often initially frustrated by what they see as a heartless and antiseptic assessment of the object of their passion and dedication. But, if they fight through those self-justifying tendencies and come to understand the investors perspective, they can substantially improve their chances of fathoming the process and, perhaps, of getting funded. The investor’s world is quite different from the entrepreneurs in many ways. But there are also similarities. Read the rest of this entry »
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