About Me

Along with Moe Farsheed, I am the co-founder of MindFire. I am also on the board of Mika Development Corporation, and act as an advisor to a few start-ups and early stage companies.

This is my personal blog. It is focused on exploring the intersection of faith, entrepreneurship, and parenthood.

My mission is to help you live with more excitement, learn from other amazing people so you can work with greater productivity, and lead your tribe with extraordinary influence.

I write on topics centered on entrepreneurship, leadership and culture, communication, productivity and work-life balance, and product management. On occasion, I write about stuff that doesn’t fit neatly into one of these categories, like this post where I shared a Christmas Day photo dump including pictures of my baby daughter.

My goal is to create content that is meaningful (won’t waste your time) and actionable (provides something you can think about or use immediately).  I also seek to spark conversations within the readership, using your comments to share contrasting opinions, educate, and sharpen future posts and commentary.

My Top Posts

If you are new to the blog, you might want to start with my most popular posts. They are:

• What’s The Difference Between You and J? [about my time with a homeless man I met at Target]
• Christmas Photo Dump [a photo summary of our Christmas day 2012]
• John Rosendahl: 1955 – 9/1/2012 [a post about my uncle who committed suicide]
• Where You Spend Your Time Reveals The Truth [an analysis of where we spend our time]
• Something No One Ever Tells You About Getting Engaged [an interesting observation]

You can also browse the “Topics” and find posts related to each of the subject areas.

My Biography

I was one of those odd (but lucky!) kids homeschooled until the 7th grade, cultivating skills as a classical pianist (if you don’t believe me, watch this video).  I later attended high school in Newport Beach, California.

After graduating Newport Harbor high school in 1996, I  joined two friends and started an Internet Service Provider, offering Internet access, email services, and web marketing.  Our office was tiny (one room and a small bathroom) — but it was steps from the beach (what more could you want at 18?), and better yet, I got my first taste of entrepreneurship.  I was hooked.  In 1997, we sold the company.

In 1998, I was invited to join the management team of a web-based software company as Director of Product Development.  There, I was responsible for the development of the company’s small business product, as well as the rollout of nation-wide dial-up Internet access.  I was blessed with the opportunity to contribute in building a software company that generated $1 million in recurring monthly revenue.

It was in this role that I met my current business partner, Moe Farsheed.

In 1999, after a few meetings at Mimi’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, we started MindFire.  We develop a multi-channel marketing automation platform, serving Clients in 24 countries.  We have been blessed with an amazing group of Clients and team members, and through their efforts, we’ve made the Inc500 list twice as one of the top 10 fastest growing software companies.

Sometime around 2003, I decided to return to college, and received my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University (see a very kind article written about me in Pepperdine’s LAUNCH! magazine).

In 2010, I got married to my wife (her blog is here), and we moved to Costa Mesa, CA.  In 2012, our sweet little baby girl arrived; what a joy fatherhood has been.

In my free time, I act as an advisor to start-up and early stage companies, as well as serving on the board of Mika Community Development Corporation, which enables the leaders of low-income neighborhoods to transform their communities through community building, youth programs, and other community driven initiatives.

I love hearing from you, so if you want to get in touch, click here.