I find the real one. Then I help fix it — at the board level, in the executive suite, or inside the business itself. Twenty-five years of operating, capital markets, and strategic advisory at complex inflection points.
The most useful board members aren't the ones who ask the most questions. They're the ones who ask the right questions — because they've been in the room when the strategy failed, the narrative fell apart, and the business model wasn't working.
I've operated as a COO, led investor relations at a $3.5B public company, built a company from zero, and advised hundreds of founders. I bring that full stack to the board table.
What I DoI distinguish between companies that have a product and companies that have a business. Most boards never ask this question directly enough.
Credibility, clarity, and narrative consistency drive valuation more than most management teams realize. I've lived on both sides of that equation.
I've built companies, not just advised them. I know the difference between a plan that sounds right in a board deck and one that can actually be executed.
I focus on the problem, not the person. I ask hard questions without making them feel like attacks. That's a rarer skill than it sounds.
I learn industries quickly and find the structural patterns beneath the surface. What looks like an industry-specific problem is usually a strategy or narrative problem in disguise.
The issue isn't distribution. It isn't targeting. It isn't the investor deck. The issue is that the company hasn't decided what it actually is — and investors can smell that ambiguity from a thousand miles away.
Founder AdvisoryA product is what you built. A business model is how you get paid, who pays you, and why they'll keep paying. Most founders are three steps ahead of this question.
AI & StrategyThe real value of AI isn't generating code. It's knowing what the intelligence and outputs should look like — and most organizations don't have the people who can do that.
"When leadership consistently verbalizes the same strategy, that becomes the strategy that gets executed. Valuation is driven by credibility, clarity, and consistent execution — not by financial engineering."
— Don De LariaI've built a freight brokerage from zero to $80M+, led investor relations at a $3.5B entertainment company for eleven years, repositioned companies whose narratives weren't working, helped close a $150M pipeline in under a year, and mentored over 300 founders collectively raising more than $400M.
I'm also a pilot — which tells you something about how I approach complexity. You prepare for every contingency. You stay calm when the instruments disagree. You don't guess your altitude.
Read the Full Story"Focus on the problem, not the person."
A principle I apply at every level of an organizationIf you're looking for a board member who will engage seriously, ask hard questions, and bring genuine operating experience — I'd like to hear about your situation.
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