A Corporate Hippy In The Mountains of WNC
With over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, I work with small businesses and startups to provide creative financial solutions for every step of their journey. I reside in Western North Carolina with my lovely wife Karen, our four kids, two cats, ducks, chickens, and a few thousand honeybees. After hours you can find me in the garden, shoes off, practicing permaculture and relaxing with the family.
My Story Starts Amongst The Rocks And Dust Of The Arizona Desert
Born and raised in Arizona, I completed my undergrad, MBA, and CFA at Arizona State. I was ambitious, mister corporate, wanting to climb the ladder and excel professionally. I was attracted to finance, math, and investments.
While working towards my degree, I landed a job with a private equity firm that gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse—work for them and they would cover the rest of my tuition. It was unprecedented for them to hire me without any experience.
I practically lived on my couch, spending hours a day highlighting and studying.
It was my senior year and I was 27. I had a great job, graduated with my MBA, earned my CFA designation, and my first daughter was born. It was a monumental time in my life.
I was young, ambitious, and well on my way to climb that corporate ladder. Everything was falling perfectly into place.
Then 2008 happened.
I wasn’t trying to go into renewable energy, renewables found me.
The 2008 crash was a surreal, unprecedented time. Here I was building a career in finance and then this atomic bomb dropped on the market. I was young, starting a family, and hungry for growth. At this point we were living in Scottsdale and I started working for companies in California.
This is when my career started transitioning from private equity to renewables and cleantech—two things I’ve always been passionate about. My background in this industry was totally by circumstance. I joined EDF Renewables, a solar development company, and built out their investment management investment models.
We dusted off our bags, packed our things, and went to the coast
After a while, the dust and the heat take their toll. Karen and I were growing tired of the Arizona desert, so when EDF Renewables made me an offer, we headed west to San Diego. I was climbing the ladder.
I pride myself on being a creative person—a rare trait in the corporate finance world. I always had one foot in the entrepreneurial world. I needed something to challenge myself, something that was an outlet for my creative and imaginative problem-solving.
Eventually, I was overcome by an entrepreneurial itch I could not scratch. I needed to find my happiness. It was time for a change.
The human mind and spirit need clouds and rain. San Diego was almost too pretty.
When you’re working for a corporation you have a narrowly defined job role. I wanted more. I wanted the opportunity to have all of these different experiences. Ideas in corporate America can be so easily squashed; creativity limited; and entrepreneurial spirits diminished.
I’m a numbers guy, so I knew the risks of starting my own business. It’s incredibly nerve-racking but I got to the point where I just didn’t care.
So in 2012, my wife and I took the plunge. I started Alpha Vanguard and we moved to Western North Carolina.
There’s a huge element of creativity in being a business owner.
We knew this was a monumental leap of faith, but I never wanted to live my life with any regret. It’s like a blank canvas for an artist. I envisioned a life that I wanted to live, and I knew I could work to create that.
I’m a better human being doing my own thing. Every opportunity to help grow businesses like yours excites me. Every day brings a new challenge.
We couldn’t be happier with where we ended up.
Thank you for reading my story. Be sure to learn more about the services I offer, the industries I serve, and if you ever want to chat, let’s get a cup of coffee.