Over the years, I’ve worked with dozens of founders – and I’ve been one myself. I know what it feels like to be deep in the product and confident in the tech, but unsure how to turn that into a company. And I know what it's like to have a great business idea, but struggle to deliver the product. These are the challenges I now love to work on.
My background spans three distinct chapters: operator, investor, and company builder. As a partner at Juxtapose, I’m combining those experiences into a role that’s part CTO, part co-founder, and part investor. In this role, I don’t just write checks. I roll up my sleeves and help founders build. That kind of hands-on partnership has never been more important than it is today.
A New Era of Company Building
The startup landscape today looks very different than it did just a few years ago. The days of raising a $10 million seed round off a pitch deck are mostly gone. Capital is tighter, expectations are higher, and the margin for error is smaller. This is especially true for founders building in complex domains like AI, cybersecurity, or infrastructure software.
At the same time, modern tools and platforms make it possible for small, focused teams to build exceptional products faster than ever. But launching a company – hiring, pricing, messaging, navigating sales cycles, raising follow-on capital – still requires experience, strategic judgement, and time-tested pattern recognition.
Today's founders don’t want passive investors. They want someone who can help translate their vision into business momentum. That’s where I strive to go beyond the role of investor and become a true co-builder.
A Partner Fluent in Code and Company Building
Early in my career, I spent more than a decade at VMware, primarily as the Chief Technology Officer. I had the privilege of managing over 3,000 engineers across three continents, helping scale teams and products that reshaped how infrastructure software is built and delivered. I also oversaw technical partnerships and was involved with 20+ acquisitions, learning to navigate and execute on these strategic (and tricky!) transactions.
Later, at General Catalyst, I invested in more than 30 early-stage companies. I learned the art and science of investing from my amazing partners. I also saw up close what the best early teams get right and developed a deep respect for the messy, creative, non-linear work of going from zero to one.
At Juxtapose, we bring these threads together. We don’t just invest in companies, we co-found them. I embed with one or two startups at a time, helping shape the product, the team, and the go-to-market motion from day one.
Speaking a Founder’s Language
At Juxtapose, I have a second role as the co-founder of Lanai - the enterprise AI observability platform, focusing on visibility, security, and enablement. I couldn't be happier to have found my co-founder and Lanai CEO Lexi Reese. We have an aligned vision and style as well as a complementary skill set…and we're collaborating on every aspect of the business. That’s intentional. A “yes and” approach to partnerships encourages building upon one another’s ideas to create something we all believe in. I couldn't be more thankful than to be working with Lexi!
I'm now knee-deep into building a second Juxtapose startup and meeting potential co-builders. I half-joke that if words like “cybersecurity, native voice models, and agentic workflow” get you fired up, we’ll probably get along. And I gravitate toward builders who have done amazing work at scale and are now driven by new challenges, deep collaboration, and a desire to build something real from scratch.
“Real” might sound like a strange word to use, but it captures what I'm personally after. Building in technically-demanding spaces, doing something that matters, and doing so with partners who can help them navigate an uncertain terrain.
If that sounds like the kind of partnership you’ve been looking for, then let’s build something together.
