About

My Background

After graduating from WWU in 1986, I moved to Seattle and opened Mountain Sound Inc., a company providing high-end sound systems for a wide variety of events. For 20 years as the owner, I managed and operated it in the high-pressure world of live event production and audio-visual logistics. In that industry, there is no room for error. I learned how to build resilient systems that perform under the brightest spotlights. I can help you add the foundational elements to your vision, and help you to build a resilient, adaptable business.

Later in my career, after returning to Bellingham in 2003, I opened El Capitan’s as a mobile hot dog stand on the campus of WWU. After more than 20 years in a very competitive and challenging business environment, it grew to be one of Bellingham’s favorite iconic food and beverage establishments. As the founder of El Capitan’s, I took a simple concept and turned it into a Bellingham institution. I didn’t just sell food; I designed a brand, culture, and operational workflows that allowed a small business to achieve outsized success and local legendary status. Why does this matters to your startup? I’ve navigated the challenges of staffing, scaling, and system failures so you don’t have to.

In order to broaden my teaching abilities, I returned to WWU in 2010, and received a Master’s Degree specializing in Adult Education and Instructional Design. It allows me to take your ideas and help you translate them into a clear, structured curriculum for your success. Since we work together to create a model specific to your business, you not only leave with a clearer idea of how to proceed, you will learn about identifying the important criteria in the decision making process, and how to understand the balance between passion and practicality.

What This Means for You

There are many challenges throuhout the startup process and no business is guaranteed success. Starting correctly sets the foundation and is crucial in ensuring the best chance for the future. My background and experience has allowed me to design The Reality Startup Consultation specifically to give you a clearer picture of both the challenges that will need to be overcome and a pathway that can help ensure a successful outcome.

Sometimes, however, the correct choice is slowing down, adjusting scope, or reconsidering the timing altogether. Both outcomes are valuable. Spartan by Design exists for serious founders — people willing to examine assumptions, understand procedural realities, and make disciplined decisions before commitments are made. My goal is to help provide clarity before these important, often expensive, and sometimes irreversable choices are made. The Startup Reality Consultation can help identify if rethinking your idea is the prudent choice.

While the Startup Consultation is designed as a stand-alone session, it is often the beginning of a longer-term relationship. My background in education, training, coaching, and mentorship make me uniquely qualified to provide differing levels of support for extended periods of time. I also have an extensive background in areas such as bookkeeping and can provide advice in many other aspects of operation. See my list of additional services for more information.

Practical guidance from someone who has actually operated a food business and understands the real-world problems that show up after the excitement wears off. We develop and deliver real-world tools to assist and guide you. You’ll leave The Startup Reality Consultation with a clearer idea of the strengths of your ideas, some of the challenges you will face, and a tangible road-map to help outline your next steps. You may find it to be the most cost-effective money you’ve ever spent!