You bring the vision. I build the company around it.
Entrepreneurial founders are wired to create, sell, and push forward. I'm wired to build what holds it all up: the strategy, the foundation, the relationships, and the culture. You stay in the lead. I work beside you as an experienced operator, without the strings of taking on a cofounder.
Start a conversationMost founders I talk to are at a similar point. They have a strong idea or an early product, but not yet the company to carry it. Strategy, hiring, relationships, processes, and reporting all run through one person.
That's normal at this stage. The work is figuring out which gaps matter now, filling them in the right order, and building a team that can carry the load.
Why "stand partner"
In an orchestra's string sections, players sit in pairs and share a music stand. The player on the outside leads. The stand partner, on the inside, plays the same part and turns the pages, so the lead never misses a note.
You get a partner who is invested in your success. You don't give up a cofounder's share, and when you're ready for a full-time operator, I hand over cleanly.
The builder to your founder
Most founders are strongest at vision, product, and selling. Someone also has to build what sits underneath. That's the part I do, and it's the part that decides whether a company can grow.
A clear strategy
Turning your vision into a practical plan: where to focus, what to build first, and what to say no to, with goals the whole team understands.
A strong foundation
The structure, processes, and reporting a company runs on, built early and built to grow, so growth doesn't break what's already working.
Key relationships
Finding the partners, clients, and stakeholders who matter most at your stage, then building and keeping those relationships for the long term.
A strong culture
Hiring the right people, developing them, and setting the habits and expectations that make a team work well long after the first hires.
Talk
30 minutes · freeWe talk about where you are and where you're trying to go. We'll both know quickly whether this is a fit.
Diagnose
2 to 4 weeks · fixed feeI look across strategy, team, operations, and relationships, then give you a clear, prioritized plan. It's yours to keep either way.
Build
Monthly · 1 to 2 days a weekI work alongside you to put the plan in place: processes, key hires, partner and client relationships, and the routines that let the company run without you in every meeting.
Hand off
When you're readyWhen you hire a full-time operator, I help recruit and onboard them, then step back.
Data driven
Decisions start with the numbers. I set up the reporting that shows what is actually happening, so we fix the right problems first.
Built efficiently
Only what your stage needs. Simple processes and tools that work now, without spending ahead of the business.
Built to scale
Every process, hire, and system should hold up as you grow. If it won't, we know what replaces it and when.
I'm a builder. In 2013 I joined PatientSERV, a healthcare payments software company, as one of its first employees. Over the next thirteen years I went from the support desk to General Manager, led the business through a successful exit, and stayed on as Senior Director with the acquirer, WELLSTAR Technologies.
Along the way I learned how a company really works, from the first client call to the boardroom. Now I work beside founders at the stage where that experience matters most.
I've built from the ground up
When I joined, PatientSERV had a single client. It grew into an industry leader serving more than a thousand physicians.
I set strategy
Worked with ownership to develop and carry out the long-term growth strategy that positioned the company for its exit. As the business grew, I identified what it needed next and developed the approach to get there.
I build foundations
Created the processes, documentation, and standard procedures the company ran on, starting from nothing, and built operations that held up as the company scaled.
I build relationships
Managed key vendor and partner relationships, helped negotiate and then led a strategic partnership with a national medical association, and kept more than 85% of clients through a post-acquisition migration.
I build teams and culture
Hired, onboarded, and developed the team that scaled the company. I also teach, and lead a community arts non-profit as board president.
Testimonial from Arden to come.