My story
I'm a co-founder & CEO of Schematic, where we help businesses solve the last mile of pricing and packaging. With just a few lines of code, Schematic allows companies to quickly launch new packaging models, free up engineering resources, and tailor pricing to individual customer preferences. In short, we help teams ship faster, delight customers, and eliminate billing headaches for good.
As a kid, I wanted to play professional soccer, and I pursued that into my early 20’s, playing collegiately & then semi-professionally. My professional journey off the field began with a community visioning campaign to help continue Chattanooga TN’s revitalization, then a short, but formative stint with an edtech startup, which got me interested in startups, and then a year at a fund of hedge funds, before founding my first company in 2012, RootsRated.
Founding RootsRated kicked off a decade-long journey into building software companies. RootsRated began as a go-to site for outdoor recreation and adventure travel. We later pivoted to SaaS, launched Matcha, a content marketing platform, and eventually, were acquired by Springbot, an email marketing service. After Matcha, I joined Automox, a leading ITOps platform, where I wore multiple hats—Director of Growth, Chief of Staff, and VP of Ops—contributing to the company's rapid growth.
Throughout my career, I've navigated the ups and downs of startups, from $0 to $40M in ARR.
My focus has tended to be both market facing & operational.
market facing —> sales, marketing, fundraising, business development, podcasting, & public speaking.
operational —> synthesizing a business’ growth levers, driving growth strategy, team building & culture building, & storytelling.
I love the challenges of entrepreneurship—identifying market opportunities, designing & commercializing products, and building teams to bring ideas to life. And that has led to me spending time on the side as a sparring partner for other founders & operators.
I was raised in Chattanooga but now live in Atlanta with my wife, two kids, and two dogs. I went to the University of Richmond, where I captained the men’s soccer team and studied International Relations & French (though my French has since atrophied).
Outside of work, I enjoy trail running and cycling, and occasionally share my thoughts on history and technology on Substack.
Timeline:
1988: Born in Chattanooga
2010: Graduated from the University of Richmond
2009-2014: Semi-professional Soccer with Chattanooga FC
2012: Founded RootsRated.com
2016: RootsRated pivots from media to SaaS
2018: RootsRated rebrands to Matcha and raises Series A
2019: Mentoring/coaching via TechStars and later FirstRound
2020: Matcha acquired by Springbot
2021: Joined Automox, serving as Director of Growth, Chief of Staff, and VP of Ops
2023: Co-founded Schematic
2024: Raise Seed from MHS, Nextview, Ritual, Active Capital, Atlanta Ventures, and a number of former CEOs who’ve experienced the problem firsthand