About
A practitioner, not a guru.
I started my first business at 15 in rural Oregon, giving away free samples companies had locked behind the counter. I never really stopped. Later I slept on strangers' couches across six continents for a documentary, then wrote the practical guide to the sharing economy.
I've taught teams at PwC and Johnson & Johnson, spoken at TEDx twice, and spent years building for the ownership web. Now I'm in Lisbon, teaching people to build with AI and running CoLab — a studio and community for entrepreneurs who want an edge on AI. Around every technology I've touched, I've built community first — dinners, courses, hackathons, always in person.
The future of the economy has to be shared value and shared ownership. That's the whole thing.
The throughline
Every wave of technology promises abundance. Then someone builds a gate around it. My work is prying it back open.
Coupons
Sharing Economy
Ownership
AI · now
The Full Story
How I got here.
It started with coupons. At 15, in small-town Oregon, I figured out that companies were giving away free samples — but hiding them behind pharmacy counters. So I started a business: I'd collect the samples, bundle them, and sell them to people who wanted to try new products without the risk. My first lesson in unlocking value that someone else had locked away.
A decade later, I was sleeping on strangers' couches across six continents. Couchsurfing had just launched, and I used it to travel the world while making a documentary about trust between strangers. That experience became the seed of my first book, It's a Shareable Life — a practical guide to the sharing economy that Rachel Botsman called "a must-read."
From there, I went deeper. I spoke at TEDx twice — once on bringing back the village, once on how blockchain could redistribute ownership. I advised companies like PwC and Johnson & Johnson on community-led growth. I wrote for Forbes, Wired, and The Economist. And I kept asking the same question: why does every wave of technology promise abundance, then end up concentrating wealth in fewer hands?
Now I'm in Lisbon, running CoLab — a studio where I teach entrepreneurs and teams to actually build with AI. Not just talk about it. Build. I've taught 200+ people in person, run 100+ dinners where we fold dumplings and talk about ethics, and organized hackathons where complete strangers ship products in a weekend.
The technology changes. The mission doesn't. Every tool I've touched — coupons, sharing platforms, blockchain, AI — I've used the same way: bring people together, teach them hands-on, and make sure the value flows back to the people who create it.
Meanwhile, This Year
Life outside work.
Between workshops and dinners, here's what I've been up to. Click any photo to see it in color.
Want to work together?