South Side Kid
I grew up in a single-parent, low-income household. My father was in prison my entire life.
I’m a Milwaukee Public Schools grad and I was also fortunate enough to earn a chance to attend college (MATC, MSOE, Keller Grad School).
On college graduation day, when my peers were accepting job offers, I realized they were also inheriting something from their parents that I was not: a professional network.
Corporate Kid
Even without a network to lean on, I eventually landed my first job heading up digital products for a financial services company.
Quickly, I found myself collaborating with marketing, product management, compliance, operations, and technology.
A great first lesson in the process of corporate alignment.
Agency Kid
As my career progressed, I moved through other parts of the organization.
Eventually, I decided to leap into agency life, working with brands like Harley-Davidson, Hitachi, Ford, Motorola, Tyson Foods, Subaru, and more.
As my career progressed and I moved to other companies, I created a way to remain connected to the talented people I was working with or had worked with. Creating a professional network became my life’s focus.
So I launched Spreenkler, a community of innovators.
What started with a few members eventually became the largest community of its kind in Midwest.
Startup Guy
From the Spreenkler community I launched a company under the same name. It was my first startup.
Spreenkler was a marketing/tech agency that hired college students, accelerated what they were learning in school, connected them to business (the professional network!), and kept them in Milwaukee.
While running Spreenkler, I also co-founded Wisconsin’s first seed incubator for tech startups and co-founded an initiative with the Greater Milwaukee Committee called Innovation in Milwaukee or MiKE.
With humble beginnings, Spreenkler became a successful $1M+ agency run almost entirely by early talent.
Chief Milwaukee Officer
I sold Spreenkler in 2014 and over the next few years I took on a few short-term / consulting roles, managing significant P&Ls and, in one case, on a global scale for a consumer product company.
In 2018, as I was reflecting on my career, I realized this city had embraced my ideas - a kid that came from nothing.
So, I decided it was time to give back.
That’s when I launched the Experience Milwaukee podcast. What started as a nights and weekend hobby quickly saw YOY revenue triple over the last three years.
I believe that’s what can happen when you align life mission and work.
My mission is to connect Milwaukeeans to business and truly network the city with the people and places that move Milwaukee forward, locally and around the country.
Milwaukee’s First Innovation District
Most recently, I co-founded the Walker’s Point Innovation District with Common Council President Jose Perez. And upon pivoting Experience Milwaukee to Substack on December 29, 2025, I announced a 12-city innovation tour beginning in January, 2026.
