Work Experience
My Product Path
Senior Product Manager (Interim Director of Product)
Oct '16 - Present // Ancestry
After exiting my previous startup, I was determined to find a company with a human mission. I jumped at the opportunity to take the product lead over Ancestry's industry-best mobile apps. My first major project was to deliver a company wide, Global Mobile Strategy. It was an absolute blast working with our Executive Team to bring the strategy from ideation, to iteration, and then execution.
And oh yeah, I also did a ton of hands on, feature level work to increase all of our favorite acronyms as well: Engagement KPIs (MAU/DAU + NPS) which inevitably led to higher performing Business Metrics (LTV, MRR, ARPU, etc.)
Head of Product & Engineering
Nov '09 - Sept '13 // Optini
Easily the most disruptive and innovative company that I've worked for, and also a company started by my dad and I. We started by building a platform to completely upend the online advertising industry, then partnered with Intel® on their Common Connectivity Framework (hardware and software proximity technology), and then leveraged that partnership to have my most unique business opportunity to-date: partnering with Shaquille O'neal on one of my app ideas. I learned lessons from my dad about "buyer's delight" and fighting for what you want in life, and I would never trade that time with him for anything.
Product Manager
May '09 - Nov '09 // Ziblio
Ziblio had a unique business model in leveraging exclusive, proprietary content to offer up stunning imagery for users to create their own photobooks. I was able to work with companies like NBC Universal, Zion National Park, and J.C. Penney to launch virtual and physical photobook campaigns. Learning the difference between brick-&-mortar and digital product management was a crucial step in my product path. I learned that getting a product on the shelves of top retailers is no small feat.
Associate Product Manager
July '07 - Jan '09 // PowerCode
Even though I started off as an Associate Product Manager, this company quickly became my Pandora's box for discovering all sorts of different opportunities in career development. I was basically over the product while also creating and forming a Value Added Reseller Network with distributed, tiered pricing SaaS models and I also hit up enough trade shows for a lifetime. I learned that it's possible to become overly passionate about ISP Billing Solutions.
Customer Support Manager
Jan '06 - July '07 // Rise Broadband
I technically started off as an installer for wireless internet, but my passion for installing wasn't nearly as hot as the rooftops I was working on, so I opted to become our 2nd customer support rep right before we hit a stage of hyper-growth (from a few thousand subs to almost 30k subs). I learned that I actually enjoyed working with angry customers in finding a solution that made them happy; I still remember the names of many of those people.
Education
Bueller. Bueller. Bueller.

Drumroll please...
And the winner is:
Most people know Shaq as the NBA Champion and legend, but few people know that he is a major player in the business world and knows how to pick winners… since he is one.
Utah Innovation Awards // Finalist
It came down to two companies: My tiny little startup (David) vs a $300mm/year budget innovation machine in Disney Interactive (Goliath). Well, Goliath won. But being a Finalist was #winning enough for us.
App Store // Top Charts
Every single App that I’ve ever touched has either debuted or remained on the App Store & Play Store top charts for the entirety of its lifecycle. Try to find someone that can say that about 10 different mobile apps.
Testimonials
(blush emoji)