1. People First, Always

This isn’t just a tagline. It’s my product theology.

Real people use the things we build. They bring their hopes, habits, hangups, and history with them into every tap, swipe, or scroll. If we forget that, if we reduce people to “conversion events” or “churn risks," we risk building products that may be efficient, but empty and soul-less.

I believe products should earn their place in people’s lives by making those lives measurably better. Not just faster. Not just stickier. Better.

2. Product Physiology

My background isn’t in Computer Science or Graphic Design. I studied Exercise and Sports Science. I lettered as a D1 athlete. My first serious frameworks weren’t roadmaps or sprint plans—they were training regimens and periodization charts.

That foundation shaped how I see product today.

Like the human body, great products are complex systems that require alignment, intentional stress, and recovery. A well-built product flexes. It learns. It gets stronger through feedback. It fails, adapts, and iterates. And it only works when the whole system is healthy—when marketing isn’t at war with product, and engineers aren’t burning out to meet arbitrary deadlines.

3. Build for Belonging

Over the past couple years, I’ve taken on fractional product leadership roles in the fitness space. I helped launch Final Surge 2.0, which connects structured training plans with Garmin and Apple users. I’ve been partnering with Wylder to help Race Directors and Running Influencers build communities that go deeper than a Strava like.

Of all the apps I've delivered, the best ones create space. Space for people to show up. Space for shared purpose. Space to move forward, together.

That’s what belonging looks like.

It doesn’t always show up in your metrics dashboard—but when it’s missing, your product feels hollow. I want to build products that invite people in and make them want to stay—not because we tricked them, but because we saw them.

4. Disrupt or Innovate. You can't do both.

One breaks the system and one builds it better. Knowing the difference will help the team succeed.

At Sonic Drive-In, we reimagined the customer experience across 3,600 locations. That meant threading innovation into something already beloved. If we moved too fast, we’d lose the soul of what made Sonic Sonic. If we moved too slowly, we’d stay stuck in a 1990s loop.

That balance between Disruption and Innovation is where great products live.

The same was true when I stepped into fintech. We were building an AI-powered banking app designed to help users feel in control of their money. Our insight was simple but radical: financial health is a lot like physical fitness. We used behavioral science to motivate, celebrate, and nudge people toward better habits. We built a gamified savings system that made goals feel achievable and real.

5. Culture Is a Product Too

I want to work with teams that are as intentional about how they build as what they build.

To me, that means:

The way we work shapes what we make. Culture is not owned by the leader it is owned by the team, the leaders then must nudge and nurture to ensure the culture stays keyed into the mission and vision of the brand. I've failed more than I've succeeded in this area.

6. Inspiration Isn’t Optional

Yvon Chouinard. David Ogilvy. Two very different builders, but they’ve both shaped my lens.

From Chouinard, I learned that values don’t have to come after success. Values can shape the route to success. That creativity and responsibility aren’t at odds. That wild ideas, when rooted in care, can change industries.

From Ogilvy, I learned the craft of communication. The power of research. The importance of understanding what your customer actually wants and why they might not tell you directly.

Their work reminds me that product is not just problem-solving. It’s storytelling. It’s meaning-making.

7. The way we work is the work.

The more I build, the more I come back to three mantras that shape how I show up—and who I want to build with:

  1. Ego is the enemy.

Great teams leave ego at the door. Not because they’re meek—but because they’re clear. Clarity makes room for trust. For tension. For iteration. If it’s always about proving you’re right, you’ll never build what’s possible.

  1. We’re always building trust—or eroding it.

With customers. With each other. With ourselves. Every commit, every conversation, every launch is a vote. Trust doesn’t show up in the metrics until it’s gone. So build like it’s your most important asset. Because it is.

  1. It’s time to trade Hero Culture for Team Culture.

A hero dies on the hill. A team takes it. I want to work with people who organize, uplift, and multiply. Not burn out in pursuit of solo wins.

Epilogue: Metrics Still Matter

Just to be clear. I believe in data. I believe in metrics. I believe in OKRs, KPIs, and A/B tests and all the analytics we use to guide decision-making.

But I also believe in gut. In instinct. In story. In soul.

The best products are made at that intersection.

That’s where I want to build. That’s where I’ve always belonged.

Let’s begin.