I’m the Content Lead for First Round’s Pitch Assist program. As far as we know, this is the first service of its kind to offer fundraising pitch strategy and design support to startups. Since launching in September 2014, Pitch Assist has helped First Round portfolio companies raise nearly $500 million in follow-on capital.
I’m also a Co-Founder of 4th & King, a creative agency based in San Francisco.
At First Round, I’m lucky enough to work with founders at a truly pivotal moment. Part journalist and part therapist, my job is to help them translate their companies’ pasts, presents, and futures into a powerful pitch that will connect with investors. No two founders are alike, which means that no two pitches are alike. And that’s what makes this so much fun.
Looking back, I’ve taken a pretty circuitous route to First Round. Since graduating from the University of Virginia with an extremely useful degree in Politics & Sociology in 2003, I’ve been a research assistant for a think tank, a reporter covering an obscure health care law, a media relations specialist at a small New York firm, and a creative director for an even smaller New York firm. Most recently I was a Senior Content Developer at Duarte, where I worked closely with senior executives and thought leaders to craft keynotes and other presentations, and then the Content Director for an HR tech startup.
As a native New Yorker, I’m now in my fourth year as a West Coast transplant. I live in San Francisco with my wife and son, where I spend most of my free time waiting for the Mets to break my heart.
