Leading startup teams


Through a career spanning tech and media, I’ve gained deep experience leading teams. I have particular expertise in internal communication, culture change, strategic planning for startups and working with distributed teams. I offer coaching for executives and emerging leaders.

I was most recently VP of Engineering at Daily and before that at ConvertKit. Previously, I was in engineering leadership at Mailchimp. Past roles include Head of Sales & Marketing for 18F, a tech consultancy within the federal government; CEO and co-founder of Lean Startup Productions, a successful media startup; and VP of Programs for indie.vc. I’ve held senior management positions at O’Reilly Media and UBM TechWeb, where I launched and ran profitable media properties. I’m co-author of The Twitter Book, and I’ve been a freelance journalist writing regularly for The New York Times. Earlier in my career, I co-founded a record label with children’s musician Laurie Berkner, and I started Just Food's CSA in NYC program.

I hold an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and a BA from Rutgers University. I split my time between New York and San Francisco. Bonus fact: I was the 21st user of Twitter.

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Coaching

As a coach and thought partner, I help executives and emerging leaders level up in effectiveness and job satisfaction. Details here.


Speaking and Workshops

I’ve spoken at dozens of conferences, universities, corporate meetings, workshops and other events, and I often appear as a guest on podcasts. I welcome new opportunities. Topics include:

  • Scaling management for your stage and size

  • Leading remote / distributed teams

  • The surprising role of leaders in addressing harassment and bullying at work (here's a version of this talk at LeadDevNY 2022)

  • Bringing tech thinking to your non-technical company


Writing


Conference Hosting