About Me

I’m a serial Entrepreneur. Lots of people say they are. So for reference, I’ve started:

  • Acquia Inc (founded 2007, acq’d 2019 for unicorn valuation by Vista Equity Partners). #1 software company in Inc. Magazine 500 Fastest Growing Companies 2012.
  • Plum Canary Corporation (2005; terminated)
  • Pintel Corporation (1997; acq’d by Nortel in 2006)
  • Energy Logic Systems (1985; acq’d by Petroleum Information, a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet in 1986)

Some won; some didn’t.  My wife & I are an entrepreneurial family; she’s had her own businesses over the years, too, where some won, some didn’t. I think the didn’t teaches as much as the did.

These days, I’m mentoring startups to accomplish this, including working with TechStars Boston, MassChallenge, and numerous startups one-on-one. I’ve also decided that my own experience as a startup CEO is helpful, but that it may not make me the best coach. So I’ve invested in myself by getting professional training so I can be a more effective executive coach.

In my spare time, I like to DJ electronic dance music. When I’m DJing, I often overlaying multiple tunes simultaneously to mix a new, unique track. I think starting new tech businesses is often just like that – it involves mixing and overlaying known good techniques with new ideas to create new, totally great businesses. Thus the domain name for my blog, startupDJ.

I DJ under the name catalyst. (I like this because I hope my music is a catalyst to trigger a dancing reaction!)  I have a bi-weekly show Fridays at 3pm Eastern time on Balearic FM. You can listen live, or subscribe to the Podcasts of all the DL DJs using the link at the site. All my Dogglounge sets are posted there, though I also have a wider variety of sounds on my Mixcloud page.

I also have a nice boat, and I’ve created a YouTube channel to chronicle our adventures on it.

(For those of you who need a Bio to put in your own announcements, try this):

Jay is passionate about growing tech startups. Having founded three, and worked at several started by others, he’s spent the bulk of his career creating value for young companies. From his engineering, product management, industry analyst, or founder / executive roles, he has learned how to help young companies discover product/market-fit, build great teams, acquire key customers to establish value, and raise the capital to accomplish all of this. Most notably, he was the founder/CEO of Acquia.