Working with Brian.
I’ve been a founder and investor for 25+ years with multiple exits. I then spent five years at ERA, a leading startup accelerator in New York, first as a Venture Partner and later as Managing Director and General Partner. Along the way, I’ve mentored hundreds of founders and coached thousands of pitches. When I stepped away from the accelerator, I started a Substack, a podcast, and grew my YouTube channel to 20k+ subscribers, all helping founders grow their startups.
In all those years, I’d never written a single line of code. But then on Super Bowl Sunday, I vibe coded my first project: a single webpage. And I was hooked. Within two weeks, I built a full productivity suite and found myself thinking and talking nonstop about building with AI. I met others who were doing the same, from founders with MBAs to seasoned engineers. A happy hour followed, and then a Slack, and that became the core of The New Builder.
In addition to the professional activities below, I love meeting builders, so I do host occasional office hours, schedule permitting. Simply drop me a note in the form below.
One-on-one coaching
I work with a small number of founders on a recurring basis, usually weekly. We cover a variety of topics from pitching and fundraising to go-to-market and AI-centric operations. I collaborate with each client to define goals early on, but I’m just as happy to help advise on whatever unexpected challenges arise in a given week. I keep the number of clients small because being useful quickly requires knowing your business well, and that takes real attention.
Speaking engagements
I am available to speak at universities, events, and trade associations about how AI is transforming the way companies are built and run, treating it as a foundation rather than just a tool. I am a frequent guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and entrepreneurship programs run by New York University, and particularly enjoy serving as a host and judge of pitch competitions.
Company learning
Teams are being told to use AI without much guidance about what that means for the work they actually do. I run sessions that start from your people’s day-to-day and work backward to what’s worth learning, instead of touring a list of tools. Formats run from a single workshop to a series over several weeks, including working sessions where people build something rather than watch a demo. These engagements might also include follow-on sessions to reinforce and grow lessons from earlier discussions.
Tell me what you have in mind.
The more you tell me up front, the more useful my first reply will be.