You’ve built multiple businesses across very different industries. What drives your ability to spot and act on market gaps so effectively?
I’ve always had a knack for spotting patterns and trends. It’s the same part of me that loves puzzles, strategy games, and brain teasers. But more than that, I’m constantly looking for ways to expand the pie. Whether it’s in a business, a leadership team, or at home, I’m energized by figuring out how everyone can win. I also have a tenacious streak and a deeply curious, intrinsically motivated team that shares the same drive to help our clients succeed. That combination of mindset, talent, and mission keeps us focused on where we can create the most value.
What really drives me is the intersection of insight and action. Spotting a market gap is one thing, but turning it into a viable business that solves a real problem is what makes it fulfilling. I’ve learned that timing, team, and execution matter as much as the idea itself. My background in finance, operations, and sociology helps me see not only where there’s opportunity, but also who’s needed to unlock it. That ability to connect the dots – between people, strategy, and market dynamics – has been a constant across every business I’ve built.
What was the “aha moment” that led to the creation of The Crucible, and how did your time in executive search influence that?
An executive search client was using assessments that were eliminating good candidates and not contributing to identifying features of success for their fund. I grew frustrated and asked why they used the assessment they did. The answer was that they didn’t see anything better. Showing more confidence than was probably warranted, I asked if there was something better, if they’d use it, to which they said yes. So, I committed to building it.
Most of the assessments private equity funds used that were very general and not private equity specific. They did not look at the elements that matter in private equity, but are less important in other contexts. Moreover, these assessments were benchmarked against the general population, so you ended up with a group of extremely smart and capable people who all look good, but they are clustered in a tiny part of the bell curve. Usually that group has already figured out how to become a part of the C-suite within companies and tend to be above average. We built a better assessment to get these specific components, and also do so in a way that can benchmark them against each other and evaluate the teams as a whole.
You scaled a plumbing company from a $40,000 investment to a $20 million exit. What key lessons from that experience still shape how you build today?
The most critical aspect is always ensuring the customer sees high levels of care, concern, and professionalism. That industry is rife with companies that do not necessarily treat the customers’ homes with the same level of attention they might have for their own. The same concept holds for thinking about the investments of our clients on the Crucible side. We need to be as excited about finding and leveraging the right leadership traits as our clients.
The Crucible blends sociology, psychology, and private equity thinking. How did you assemble the right team to build such a multidisciplinary platform?
We found self-motivated people who were interested in continuous improvement, data-driven analysis, and deep intellectual curiosity. We wanted to find people who could speak the same transformational leadership-focused language, but who brought their own perspectives. That perspective has led to the construction of a group not bound by geography or academic discipline, which has yielded a diverse, engaged team.
Many investors talk about betting on the jockey. How does The Crucible give them a more objective way to assess leadership potential?
Objectivity is the raison d’etre for the Crucible. We provide a numeric basis for understanding how to work with leaders to drive stronger returns. The individual report can be utilized to identify areas of improvement and development for an individual, or potential fit in a certain role. The group report demonstrates how multiple executives will operate in a team setting, illustrates weaknesses in the team to mitigate, and highlights areas of strength to be leveraged. Our group report is commonly utilized in diligence (pre- and post-acquisition), in coaching and developing team members, or to identify the individuals needed to build a strong executive core able to deliver upon the investment thesis.
We also ensured that this assessment does not reinforce biases that tend to be resident in the PE space. We spent two years testing the tool for validity, accuracy, and a lack of bias and differential impact to ensure we had the best possible outcomes.
What separates high performing leaders from average ones according to your data, and were there any surprising or counterintuitive findings?
We have five catalysts (Execution, Leadership, Cognitive Horsepower, Emotional Leverage, and Interpersonal skills) that comprise 30+ different individual elements that are critical for success. Some of my favorite elements are Pattern Recognition, Urgency, Optimism, and Disdain for Losing. The last one is interesting because we test for both Competitiveness and Disdain for Losing. People strong in the first category love to win, but people in the latter category refuse to let their businesses and teams lose. It’s those people who often can generate outsized success with limited or leveraged resources.
The Crucible also looks at some psychometrics we call Contaminants that could materialize in times of stress and prove detrimental to organizations. One of these is Arrogance, which can absolutely destroy value in a business. However, when we looked at the levels where Arrogance truly ruins companies and should be flagged, we discovered that people have to be in the top decile of arrogance to prove problematic. As such, there are a lot of arrogant leaders out there who are not necessarily detracting from their companies’ success.
You’ve won several awards for innovation in human capital and performance. What kind of impact are clients seeing as a result of using your platform?
We’ve seen dramatic success for businesses and companies using the Crucible. Some high-level wins include a 7-fold increase in leadership success metrics, 9% reduction in turnover, savings of several hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in recruiting costs, and an 18% increase in valuation, respectively, for various clients.
How did your academic background in sociology and quantitative research shape your approach to evaluating leadership?
My academic background in sociology and quantitative research gave me a dual lens for evaluating leadership, combining human nuance with data discipline. Sociology trained me to look beyond individual traits and examine the broader systems, norms, and group dynamics that influence behavior. Quantitative research, on the other hand, instilled in me a rigor around measurement – how to define, test, and validate what actually drives performance. Together, they shaped my belief that effective leadership assessment is both art and science. We need to understanding people deeply, while also allowing for the growth people can experience once they have identified areas to leverage and improve.
How do you see the investment world evolving in its understanding of leadership, especially in the mid market and private equity space?
I’ve seen a real shift in how the investment world views leadership, especially in the mid-market and private equity space. There’s a growing recognition that value creation isn’t just about strategy and capital; it’s about having the right people in the right roles at the right time. More firms are investing earlier in leadership assessment and development, not just as a risk mitigation tool but as a lever for growth. In the mid-market especially, where every leadership seat carries significant weight, there’s less room for misalignment. The best investors are no longer just asking, “Can this team get the job done?” They’re asking, “How can we help this team get even better?” The Crucible can facilitate value creation through the leadership lever.
