My wife, Jessica, and I value the experiences we gained during our time at Origami Owl. We loved that startup energy—paired with the mission to be a force for good. We started Thinkful Inc. as a way to help fuel others’ dreams of building companies that truly make a difference in the world.As a business incubator and accelerator, Thinkful Inc. provides a platform of education, incubation and acceleration. We partner with entrepreneurs who are on a mission to make a difference and we help them put action plans behind their dreams, by offering investment funding, mentorship, resources and a dedicated team—all of which is designed to support both their short- and long-term goals. From branding and marketing to developing scalable strategies for growth, Thinkful Inc. partners with and inspires these entrepreneurs based on their unique needs.

Origami Owl began with my niece, Bella, who started selling her unique line of customizable jewelry to earn money to buy a car for her 16th birthday. When Bella and her parents realized that the company had the potential to be much more, they asked my wife, Jessica, and I to help take the company to the next level. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves taking a huge leap of faith and relocating from Connecticut to Arizona, dreaming of the company that Origami Owl would one day become. Together we built Origami Owl into a direct sales company, allowing people across the country to become independent consultants, sell the jewelry line, and use Origami Owl to reach their own goals and dreams, just as Bella did in the very beginning. Our goal was always to create a different kind of company—a company with a unique culture that put people and doing good right in the center. Instead of working toward the norm, we built things the way we envisioned them, always thinking outside the box. As we evolved Origami Owl from a teenager’s start-up to a multi-million dollar enterprise, we devoted every ounce of energy into putting forth a model for doing business that would inspire and empower people of all ages. With 500+ employees and more than 60,000 Independent Designers, today Origami Owl has merely become a bigger version of what it was from the very beginning: a force for good.

As the first Chief Operations Officer, my role at Origami Owl was wide-ranging, and I had a hand in creating every operations system within the company. Below are a few milestones that I’m most proud of:• Successfully navigated the company through hypergrowth, quickly scaling infrastructure and operations to support a $300K operation in year one to more than $200M in just two years. • Grew daily output of daily shipments from less than 20 packages to more than 40,000 in less than two years.• Maintained a debt-free operation.• Grew from four employees to more than 500 within two years.• Scaled from initial 3,000 sq. ft. building to supporting multiple buildings, with a combined space of more than 100,000 sq. ft.• Grew a customer service team of one to more than 50 within two years.• Developed the pricing structure and commissions plan for the sales field. • Implemented robust backend software, websites, apps, and reporting systems to support internal departments and independent consultants.