"Entrepreneurship is one of the most creative of all human endeavors, but innovative thinking requires the courage to work outside the box."
Beginning in Silicon Valley in 1998--Ground Zero of the Internet Boom--I have spent virtually my entire professional life working in startup ventures and with the entrepreneurs and investors who pursue disruptive innovation. I have helped launch over a dozen for-profit ventures and nonprofit organizations, while also supporting fellow entrepreneurs as interim executive, advisor, mentor, consultant, and Board member. Learn more about me here.
CURRENT VENTURES
BLUE MARBLE EXPLORATION
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2013 - founded
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Blue Marble Exploration organizes expeditions to explore "extreme environments" for scientific discovery and inspirational storytelling.
FORTIVO MUSIC
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2022 - founded
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Fortivo Music is a YouTube channel creating "playlists with origin stories" as a way of helping fans discover music that's new to them.
GAIA VENTURE STUDIOS
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2024 - founded
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Gaia Venture Studios is a space venture studio with a strategic focus on dual-use technologies in space and on Earth.
HUMANS2VENUS FOUNDATION
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2020 - founded
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Humans2Venus Foundation is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on promoting Venus-related science and education programs.
SPACE BRIDGE PARTNERS
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2023 - founded
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Space Bridge Partners is a boutique advisory firm that fills the gap between mission organizers and prospective funders.
VENUS VANGUARD
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2025 - founded
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Venus Vanguard is a space mission planning and operations company focused on Earth's nearest planetary neighbor.
PAST VENTURES
ANSIBLE SPACE
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
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2014 - founded
2015 - merged into RBC Signals
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Ansible's mission was to create a global network of ground stations to provide telemetry and data download capabilities for small satellites.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPACE ENTREPRENEURS
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2003 - founded
2010 - transferred to
Space Frontier Foundation
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IASE created a global online community of successful entrepreneurs from various industries in order to connect them with space professionals and therefore nurture the creation of new space ventures.
iSPACES
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2009 - founded
2020 - ceased operations
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iSpaces developed a revolutionary Web-based operating system with a proprietary embedded "browser in a browser" that allowed users to access all of their digital work and content on any device.
MILO
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1998 - founded
2001 - acquired by Voxeo
(later acquired by Aspect and Alvaria)
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Milo was one of the leading software development firms creating innovative speech recognition applications that laid the groundwork for the future of Siri, Alexa, and others.
OCEANGATE
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2009 - founded
2023 - ceased operations
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OceanGate was a global provider of deep sea crewed submersible solutions for a variety of industries, including exploration, research, filmmaking, oil & gas, biopharma, and tourism.
OCEANGATE FOUNDATION
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2010 - founded
2023 - ceased operations
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The OceanGate Foundation was a nonprofit organization whose mission was to expand humanity's understanding of the world's oceans through exploration, inspiration, and education.
SEA-SPACE INITIATIVE
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2011 - founded
2015 - merged into
Exploration Institute
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The Sea-Space Initiative--originally a program of the Opus Novum Foundation--was a global series of two-day workshops that brought together industry experts with experience in the fields of both oceans and space.
SPACE ANGELS NETWORK
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2006 - founded
2015 - relaunched as Space Angels
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Space Angels Network (now "Space Angels") is the largest and most active international group of accredited investors focused on providing capital to early-stage space ventures.