A bit about me. I have been known as “the Simon Cowell of the Chicago Booth New Venture Challenge” for my direct delivery of tough feedback. I like to distinguish myself from Cowell’s often curt feedback of “that was truly awful” by saying that I always followed up a comment like, “You just talked for ten minutes and we have no idea what you do” with “and I want to work with you because there are three things we can do to fix it.”

I do not have the typical background of an entrepreneurship professor. As a young person, I had an enormous love of the theatre and a passion for logic. This led to my pursuing two degrees as an undergraduate in college — one in theatre and the other in computer science. This odd combination set me up for a strange career journey that included a Ph. D. in theatre history, employment at Forrester Research in its early growth years, my own consulting company, a brief stint as an investor, and finally 22 years at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business teaching entrepreneurship and mentoring entrepreneurs worldwide. In those 22 years, I discovered the superpower that blends my theatre and computer science background perfectly — I can see what entrepreneurs are trying to accomplish with their innovations and help them tell their stories. With WyseHeart Advisory, I continue to do that.