St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
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StartupBros

About

I build, buy, and sell internet businesses, then turn what works into systems other…

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Activity

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Experience & Education

  • StartupBros

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Volunteer Experience

  • Florida Conductor / Alumni Mentor

    StartupBus

    - 5 years 1 month

    Science and Technology

    Rode StartupBus as a founder, pitched BumperCrop in the 2012 Grand Finals, then returned as Florida Conductor to recruit, prepare, and mentor 30+ founders, designers, and builders on the road to SXSW.

  • Mentor / Judge / Speaker / Chapter Launch Support

    StartupWeekend Tampa Bay

    Economic Empowerment

    Helped launch and support the Tampa Bay StartupWeekend founder community as a mentor, judge, speaker, and organizer support. Worked with early teams on offers, pitches, demos, customer acquisition, and sharper founder stories.

Publications

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Projects

  • PRBot.ai

    - Present

    AI-powered PR and authority product for founders, startups, and small businesses.

    PRBot turns expertise, launches, and company stories into pitch angles, media opportunities, backlinks, and authority signals.

    Built because founders should be using AI for distribution, not just content and internal workflows.

  • Applied AI Systems

    - Present

    Built real applied-AI systems, not demos: products, workflow software, research/diligence tools, authority engines, local-model evals, and agent infrastructure that operators can actually use.

    Recent work includes PRBot.ai, the House of Vibe member platform, HIPAA-aware healthcare operations software, AI workflow benchmarking, private local-AI infrastructure, source-grounded research/diligence systems, and agent tooling for synthetic customer panels, autonomous experiments, browser…

    Built real applied-AI systems, not demos: products, workflow software, research/diligence tools, authority engines, local-model evals, and agent infrastructure that operators can actually use.

    Recent work includes PRBot.ai, the House of Vibe member platform, HIPAA-aware healthcare operations software, AI workflow benchmarking, private local-AI infrastructure, source-grounded research/diligence systems, and agent tooling for synthetic customer panels, autonomous experiments, browser automation, service orchestration, and code-agent quality control.

    Useful for founders and funds when the problem needs product taste, growth instinct, production code, and operator judgment in the same room.

  • Open-Source AI Systems & Private Lab

    - Present

    Built and published 20+ original open-source AI, agent, automation, and developer tools in 2026, then contributed 33 merged upstream PRs across six independent projects spanning model serving, agent infrastructure, browser automation, MCP, and production reliability.

    Public work includes a Claude Code plugin marketplace, synthetic customer research, local-model evaluation, agent memory and skill evaluation, browser control, service orchestration, automated PR review, and health-data MCP…

    Built and published 20+ original open-source AI, agent, automation, and developer tools in 2026, then contributed 33 merged upstream PRs across six independent projects spanning model serving, agent infrastructure, browser automation, MCP, and production reliability.

    Public work includes a Claude Code plugin marketplace, synthetic customer research, local-model evaluation, agent memory and skill evaluation, browser control, service orchestration, automated PR review, and health-data MCP integrations.

    I also operate a private AI lab for local model serving, benchmark-governed routing, evals, observability, and code-agent workflows. It supports PRBot, House of Vibe, healthcare operations software, diligence/research systems, and my own company OS.

  • Sourcing Summit

    -

    Founder and host of nine Sourcing Summits: 9-day, all-inclusive China/Canton Fair sourcing masterminds for 300+ Amazon and Shopify entrepreneurs from 2015-2020.

    Each trip was capped at 30-50 serious operators and included 5-star hotels, meals, private events, supplier and factory access, product research, negotiation, quality control, logistics, private masterminds, and 1:1 coaching.

    We handled the travel and execution layer so attendees could focus on products, suppliers, and…

    Founder and host of nine Sourcing Summits: 9-day, all-inclusive China/Canton Fair sourcing masterminds for 300+ Amazon and Shopify entrepreneurs from 2015-2020.

    Each trip was capped at 30-50 serious operators and included 5-star hotels, meals, private events, supplier and factory access, product research, negotiation, quality control, logistics, private masterminds, and 1:1 coaching.

    We handled the travel and execution layer so attendees could focus on products, suppliers, and better businesses. This was a premium operator mastermind built inside the world's largest sourcing environment.

  • E-Commerce Empire

    -

    StartupBros live ecommerce coaching program for entrepreneurs building Amazon, Shopify, importing, and physical-product businesses.

    Built for 6,000+ entrepreneurs learning product research, sourcing, offer validation, supplier work, launch strategy, and the unglamorous execution behind real ecommerce companies.

  • Import Empire Summit

    -

    Founder and producer of Import Empire Summit, a 500+ attendee, no-pitch ecommerce/importing conference at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando in October 2015.

    Built for serious Amazon, ecommerce, and importing operators: Daymond John keynote and private meet-and-greet, 20+ speakers, VIP programming, major seller-tool sponsors, speaker green room, open-bar networking, and a strict no-selling-from-stage policy.

    The full 19-session archive is now public. In his filmed keynote, Daymond credits…

    Founder and producer of Import Empire Summit, a 500+ attendee, no-pitch ecommerce/importing conference at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando in October 2015.

    Built for serious Amazon, ecommerce, and importing operators: Daymond John keynote and private meet-and-greet, 20+ speakers, VIP programming, major seller-tool sponsors, speaker green room, open-bar networking, and a strict no-selling-from-stage policy.

    The full 19-session archive is now public. In his filmed keynote, Daymond credits StartupBros with importing/exporting expertise deeper than his own.

  • BumperCrop

    -

    BumperCrop was a local-food marketplace I co-founded and led the pitch for during StartupBus/SXSW 2012. Built in 72 hours on a moving bus, it finished runner-up in the StartupBus Americas Grand Finals.

    I pitched before Naval Ravikant, David Cohen, Robert Scoble, Intel Capital's Christine Herron, and Katie Rae. Coverage followed from TIME, Bloomberg Businessweek, TechCrunch, Tampa Bay Times, Creative Loafing, 83 Degrees, and StartupBus media.

    Other creators
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  • DropShop / DGE / Yepp

    -

    Advisor / early investor around DropShop / DGE / Yepp, an ecommerce infrastructure venture from the Shopify operator ecosystem.

    Advised on product positioning, go-to-market, partnerships, distribution, and operator-market fit. Yepp's public crowdfunding materials listed me on the advisory team.

  • FBA Prep

    -

    Amazon FBA prep/logistics company I co-founded through StartupBros for sellers importing and sending inventory into Amazon.

    Handled the unglamorous side of ecommerce: receiving, inspection, labeling, bundling, prep workflows, fulfillment partners, seller support, and service delivery. Fast early demand; useful hands-on operating reps in logistics and Amazon seller pain points.

  • Hivemind

    -

    Founder of Hivemind, a premium private mastermind for serious Amazon sellers.

    I built it as the high-ticket back end of the StartupBros / E-Commerce Empire ecosystem, serving seven-figure ecommerce operators through private community, live calls, operator problem-solving, partnerships, and high-touch mastermind work.

    Hivemind grew into a 100-member, $25k/year operator community. I later exited my stake to partners who continued operating it, and the mastermind still runs today…

    Founder of Hivemind, a premium private mastermind for serious Amazon sellers.

    I built it as the high-ticket back end of the StartupBros / E-Commerce Empire ecosystem, serving seven-figure ecommerce operators through private community, live calls, operator problem-solving, partnerships, and high-touch mastermind work.

    Hivemind grew into a 100-member, $25k/year operator community. I later exited my stake to partners who continued operating it, and the mastermind still runs today with live events, member calls, and advanced Amazon/ecommerce operator programming.

Honors & Awards

  • Featured Instructor, AI Creator Summit & Claude Code Summit

    AI Creator Summit / Claude Code Summit

    Invited instructor for two 2026 summit sessions, including "How to Build Your First AI Product This Weekend (No Code Required)" and an advanced Claude Code workshop on agents, context engineering, and production workflows.

    The material came from daily use building PRBot, House of Vibe, research/diligence systems, local-model evals, and production agent infrastructure. In 2026 I also published 20+ original open-source AI and developer tools and landed 33 merged upstream PRs across six…

    Invited instructor for two 2026 summit sessions, including "How to Build Your First AI Product This Weekend (No Code Required)" and an advanced Claude Code workshop on agents, context engineering, and production workflows.

    The material came from daily use building PRBot, House of Vibe, research/diligence systems, local-model evals, and production agent infrastructure. In 2026 I also published 20+ original open-source AI and developer tools and landed 33 merged upstream PRs across six independent projects.

  • Speaker at Elite Seller Summit 2019

    Elite Seller Summit

    Invited speaker for ecommerce and Amazon operators, teaching how to hire, systematize, and scale with SOPs.

  • Speaker at Global Sources Summit 2019

    Global Sources

    Invited speaker for Global Sources Summit, teaching Amazon and ecommerce sellers what was coming next and how to keep winning in 2020 and beyond.

  • Global Sources Summit 2018 - Top-Rated Session

    Global Sources

    Delivered "How to Kill it on Amazon in 2018" for Amazon and ecommerce sellers. Attendee survey rated the session 4.56/5 for usefulness and ranked it 4th out of 24 Global Sources Summit sessions.

  • Speaker at Techstars Startup Week Tampa Bay 2018

    Techstars Startup Week Tampa Bay

    Invited speaker at Techstars Startup Week Tampa Bay on building an ecommerce business from scratch with Amazon and Shopify, for the Funding/Growth and Side Hustle tracks.

  • Speaker at Blue Ribbon Mastermind Live 2018

    Smart Marketer / Blue Ribbon Mastermind

    Invited speaker at Smart Marketer's private Blue Ribbon Mastermind Live in Nashville for advanced Amazon, Shopify, and direct-response operators.

  • Top 25 Shopify Affiliate / Ecommerce Info Mastermind Invitee

    Shopify

    Recognized as one of Shopify's top 25 education/affiliate partners and invited to its private Ecommerce Info Mastermind for leading ecommerce educators, affiliates, and operator-partners.

    Held at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, the room focused on ecommerce education, Shopify partner growth, operator Q&A, and high-level collaboration during the mid-to-late 2010s ecommerce boom.

  • Speaker at Rich20Something Live: How We Built StartupBros to $1.5M/Year

    Rich20Something

    Invited speaker at the $1,000-ticket, 50-person Rich20Something Live event in Santa Monica. Delivered the 86-minute session "How We Built StartupBros to $1.5M/Year Creating Content on the Side" for Daniel DiPiazza's founder audience. Full talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jrMS0AyAnU

  • StartupBus Americas Grand Finals Runner-Up - BumperCrop

    StartupBus

    Co-founded BumperCrop and led the pitch at SXSW, finishing runner-up in the 2012 StartupBus Americas Grand Finals. The judging panel included Naval Ravikant, David Cohen, Robert Scoble, Intel Capital's Christine Herron, and Katie Rae. Coverage followed from TIME, Bloomberg Businessweek, TechCrunch, Tampa Bay Times, Creative Loafing, and others.

Languages

  • English

    Native or bilingual proficiency

  • Spanish

    Elementary proficiency

  • Italian

    Elementary proficiency

  • French

    Elementary proficiency

  • Latin

    Elementary proficiency

  • Chinese

    Elementary proficiency

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