Business Orchestrator
List of businesses I've started, bought, sold, shuttered.
Step into my journey: the victories, the failures, and everything in between. I’m laying it bare—warts and all—so you might find inspiration, or perhaps a cautionary tale.
13
A new take on the traditional insurance agency
Active
2024
-
VDI is a captive insurance agency for MGA's & Carriers. By specializing, we build insurance books faster and cheaper than traditional distribution models and can help fix programs that are not working
Velocity Direct Insurance
12
My businesses need it, why not create it?
Shuttered
2021
-
2024
Nearshore IT services firm with a focus on delivery quality and impact sourcing.
Lumiqualis
11
Do I really want to be a hospitalitarian?
Exited
2021
-
2025
Luxury estate and retreat property for private and corporate use. Conceived of the business plan and tried to work with the county to establish footprint and get zoning. Unfortunately, the county had no vision for business formation, and ultimately, it had to be turned back into a private home, where I eventually sold it.
Winding Waters Estate
10
Making a business from my Pilot's dreams
Active
2020
-
Private aviation services and operations management company.
MSD Aviation
09
Keeping people safe during a war with a pathogen
Shuttered
2020
-
2023
Drive-through COVID testing and vaccination sites launched during the pandemic. 0 - 300 employees in 90 days. Crazy fucking ride.
15toKnow
08
Why not try buying one of your customers to see what can happen?
Exited
2020
-
2024
Medical billing services company serving clinics and providers. Learned how to do work for commission and make it profitable. Couldn't get sales moving so eventually merged into FTO.
Ponderosa Medical Billing
07
Global Business Incubation Platform masquerading as a BPO Company
Active
2016
-
Business services that generate value for middle-marketing companies while creating middle-class jobs
Fair Trade Outsourcing ("FTO")
06
To save the planet, the basics have to be easier
Shuttered
2009
-
2017
Solar proposal software platform for installers and enterprises; when first launched, took the process from 3 days to 5 minutes. Reset the standard for how to estimate the size of a solar project. Then, got-out innovated by a company that's now a client of FTO!
MODsolar
05
Building friend-to-friend goal accountability in the early days of Social Media
Idea
2008
-
2008
A friend and I were both struggling to meet our running goals. We relied on each other. We knew there were others in the same boat. Why not build a website to help them collaborate?
Goalbuddy.com
04
Teaching myself to code in the hardest way possible
Exited
2003
-
2005
Early-career software and product firm role. Wrote parsers for programming languages older than I am, extracted metadata, and helped architects/developers visualize large-scale, old code bases.
Lexient
03
I was around restaurants my whole life, why not buy one? How hard could it be?
Exited
1998
-
1999
Bored with another business, a friend convinced me to come and build systems and run the books for established restaurants in Delco where an owner was looking to exit
The Clam Tavern & Clam Too
02
Trying to help some friends
Exited
1998
-
2000
Classic Story. Iconic bakery at 4th & Bainbridge with one of the first blond brownies around; older founder/owner looking to exit and cash in after years of hard work
Pink Rose Bakery
01
My first lesson in Price Arbitrage
Shuttered
1986
-
1986
Buying penny candy in north philly for 1 cent and reselling in our tony private school for 5 cents seemed like a good idea. Until the Principal caught on