Speaking
Real Talk for Real Founders
I speak about the stuff most founder content won't touch - the expensive mistakes, the contrarian decisions, and why simple often beats complex in business.
What I Talk About:
"Why I Walked Away from $5M" - Decision-making frameworks when spreadsheets say yes but your gut says no
"From 5 Co-founders to Zero" - Why AI is making traditional team structures obsolete
"The $500K Lesson" - How my failed quant trading firm taught me that complexity doesn't equal better results
"Bootstrap vs. VC: The Real Tradeoffs" - Building profitable companies without giving up control
"AI Implementation Reality" - What actually works vs. what gets hyped on Twitter
"The Sunday Night Test" - How energy levels reveal more about your business than any metric
Speaking Style:
- No motivational fluff or generic startup advice
- Real numbers, real failures, real decisions
- Contrarian takes backed by personal experience
- 20-45 minutes with Q&A
Who Books Me:
- Founder meetups and technical conferences
- University entrepreneurship programs
- Bootstrap and AI-focused events
- Companies implementing AI strategies
Recent Topics:
- "Why Remote Work is Killing Your Startup" (contrarian take based on extensive remote experience)
- "The Simplification Principle" (lessons from over-engineering disasters)
- "Building Global Companies from Canada" (jurisdictional strategies)
What I Don't Do:
- Generic motivation talks
- Panels where everyone agrees with each other
- Events that don't pay speakers (your budget shows what you value)
Get in Touch: speaking@founderreality.com for event inquiries
I'm selective about speaking engagements. The audience should be people actually building companies, not just thinking about it.