01
Brands
Started in brand management at Procter & Gamble, then led marketing at Rockfish through its acquisition by WPP.
- Founding member, P&G Corporate Digital Strategy
- Rockfish revenue: $6M (2010) to $70M+ (2016)
Brands · Startups · Ecosystems
I work where big brands and startups collide.
I lead Blue North, Northern Kentucky's innovation hub. Before that: brand management at P&G, CMO of Rockfish, co-founder of The Brandery, and CEO of a brand I bought and sold. I write Predicting The Turn for Forbes and sit on the boards of founder-led companies.
Worked with and spoke atP&GRockfish / WPPForbesNRFSXSWNACDTEDx
Three acts, one through-line
Twenty years where big brands and startups meet.
02
Startups
Co-founded an accelerator and a seed fund, backing founders from the first check. Then bought a brand, ran it and sold it.
- Co-founded The Brandery, a Top 10 US accelerator for multiple years
- Vine St Ventures exits include VNDLY, acquired by Workday for $510M
- Bought Nature’s Willow in 2019, grew revenue 4X, sold to private equity
03
Ecosystems
Now builds the places where corporations, founders and capital meet on purpose.
- Leads Blue North, Kentucky Innovation Hub for 17 counties, and built SparkHaus in Covington
- Testified to the Kentucky General Assembly on entrepreneur-led economic development
- Founded Brand Fusion: 3,754 meetings, 335 brands, 485 startups
Latest from Predicting The Turn
See all 185+ episodes How the people building brands see the turn coming.
How Hero Bread Brings Back Shoppers Who Quit The Bread Aisle
Hero Bread CEO YuChiang Cheng, a Topgolf veteran, explains why Hero is bringing shoppers back to bread
His Son’s Team Chose Video Games, So He Built A Gym Like One
Shoot 360 founder Craig Moody watched his son’s team pick video games over basketball, cashed out his 401(k) and built a gamified gym the Warriors joined.
Three Weeks From Broke, He Watched ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’
Mike Collette’s CFO said PatientPoint was three weeks from shutdown. Here’s how he built a point-of-care giant and later bought the rival that fooled investors.
Board service
Commitment, not committees.
First independent director for founder-led companies, with hands-on work between meetings. And an operator who has bought, run and sold a company.
See board service Start a board conversationSince 2014First independent director, Braxton Brewing
Since 2015First independent director, Hunt Club
AdvisorBoard-recruited advisor to ReliaQuest, GoPuff and Enfusion, each later valued at $1B+
Speaking
Book Dave to speak Keynotes on disruption, from someone who has sat on both sides of the table.
01Predicting The TurnHow startups reveal the future of your industry, and the four ways big companies respond.02Entrepreneur-Led Economic DevelopmentTraditional economic development chases the deal. Entrepreneur-led economic development builds the engine.03Building the BridgeWhat actually works when corporations and startups try to work together.04The AI TurnWhat founders and brand leaders are actually doing with AI, and what to leave alone.
Few people can meaningfully speak of both the entrepreneur’s universe and the Fortune 50.
The book
Predicting The Turn
The High Stakes Game of Business Between Startups and Blue Chips. Four strategies big companies use when startups show them the future: acquire, invest, partner, build.
Acquire Invest Partner Build
★ Grand Prix · 2017 WPP Atticus AwardsFollow the turn.
New columns and episodes, as they publish.