My Story
From a kid with a dream to building brands that move culture.
Berkshires to Boston. Curiosity to craft to giving back. Three decades of solving problems nobody else could, and making sure the next kid gets their shot.
01 The Origin
A kid with a computer and a dream.
At 16, I was already paying attention to what the internet could become, and I was ready to build something of my own. College wasn't the path for me. Not because I didn't want to learn, but because the traditional route didn't fit the moment I was in. So I decided to build something instead.
Working out of a basement in the Berkshires, surrounded by BBS systems and early web technology, I taught myself everything I could get my hands on. Adobe tools. VRML. HTML. Whatever was emerging next. I built my own computers, stood up hosting environments, ran Netscape servers and later IIS. If something new showed up, I figured it out.
By 17, I landed my first real contract through the local municipality, Westfield Gas and Electric. A local mall had a problem with their online site. Nobody else knew how to fix it. I learned enough Perl in a weekend and had it solved by Monday morning.
That weekend changed everything. I didn't need a degree. I needed a T1 line and conviction. If you believe in yourself and stay with the hard problems long enough to solve them, you're capable of more than you ever thought. And when you can solve problems other people can't, opportunity finds you.
Credit where it's due: the ability to see an opportunity when it showed up was something I learned at home. My parents gave me the skills that made all of this possible. The habits of paying attention, being resourceful, and figuring out what I didn't know. I didn't know it at the time, but those were the tools I leaned on hardest in those early years.
02 The Team
Building brands that move culture.
That early work eventually grew into Getfused, the full-service creative marketing agency my co-founder and I built in Boston. But the real evolution wasn't the company. It was the team.
What I'd learned early on, solving problems alone with a keyboard and a dial-up line, could only take us so far. The bigger work, the work that actually moves culture, happens when you surround yourself with trusted people who think critically, stay open-minded, and believe in the clients as much as the clients believe in them.
One door opened the next. Our work with the Patriots through Super Bowl wins, patriots.com, and the Pro Shop showed the sports and entertainment world what we were capable of. The UFC was paying attention. Every time The Ultimate Fighter aired, their site would go down. They'd seen what we did for the Patriots. They'd seen our work across MMA.tv and mixedmartialarts.com. So they called.
We didn't just help them grow the enterprise. We ended up owning the space. UFC.com. MMA.tv. Tapout. Xyience, the official energy drink of the UFC. If it mattered in mixed martial arts, we had a hand in it. That partnership ran twenty years and culminated in the UFC being acquired for $4 billion.
Each relationship taught me something different. Sonesta taught me the value of consistency and brand heritage. The Patriots showed me what championship-level standards look like in every detail. The UFC taught me that patience, trust, and showing up every single day is how you build something that lasts.
None of it was ever one person. Every one of those opportunities started the same way: a problem nobody else could solve, and a team willing to put blood, sweat, and tears into solving it as one. That's what grew us into who we are today.
03 Paying It Forward
Making sure the next kid gets a chance.
I didn't get here alone. People saw something in me before I could see it in myself. They opened doors. They gave me chances. They pointed me toward opportunities I didn't know how to find on my own.
About eighteen years ago, I met an organization that changed how I thought about giving back. The Ron Burton Training Village, founded by the late Patriots running back Ron Burton, takes young people from under-resourced communities and teaches them what no classroom ever will: respect, determination, self-belief, and what it actually takes to succeed.
Before RBTV, I'll be honest. I was skeptical of most youth charities. I assumed the money rarely made it to the kids. RBTV was the first place I saw the opposite clearly and completely. Every dollar, every hour, every volunteer pointed at one thing: giving young people the foundation to build a life they're proud of.
Through that organization, I met people like Don Rodman and Jack Connors. Two of Boston's great philanthropists, and two of the most generous men I've ever known. They didn't just write checks. They built infrastructure. They opened doors for thousands of kids who needed what I once needed: somebody who saw them and believed they were worth investing in.
That introduction pulled me into a network of organizations all pointed at the same mission. Helping kids who remind me of me. Showing them that hard work pays off. That believing in yourself is a decision you make every day. That opportunity is real if you're willing to meet it.
TEDx Talk
The Power of Connections - TEDx @ Bentley University
What I Believe
Being able to see the good in others, to appreciate their hard work, and to see their true intentions, that's where real connection starts.
Let's make a better tomorrow.
Let's Rock.
The best ideas start with a conversation.
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