Reformed Entrepreneur
My name is Chris and I’m CEO of a startup accelerator in Austin called Astronomic. Prior to Astronomic, I built and sold a venture-backed adtech startup (Grapevine), after which I built a non-profit startup incubator (Urban Engine) and a for-profit venture studio (The Foundry). We founded and scaled an orthopedic surgery SaaS company (MyPostOpCare), which I sold to another investor.
My professional success is often overshadowed by my personal past. I had a rough childhood and hurt a lot of people in my youth. Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked hard to reform my behavior and become the sober, collaborative person that I am today.
Perseverance
I grew up in a violent household and became violent myself. Rather than being premeditative, my violence was reactive. But instead of taking responsibility, I blamed it on mental illness.
It wasn’t until age 23 (2007) that I finally owned my violence and began taking steps to reform it. During an argument in 2007, I hit an ex-girlfriend and badly injured her, landing myself in jail for a year. The remorse that I felt compelled me to devote my sentence to confronting my beliefs, rewiring my feelings, and changing my actions. It wound up being the most rehabilitative year of my life.
After jail, I enrolled in therapy and made a commitment to remain non-violent. I spent the next 10 years doing deep work on myself while building several companies.
Then in 2017, I had too much to drink at a concert. Days later, an employee of mine who hadn’t attended the concert claimed she’d heard I’d gotten into a fight with two women there that I’d never met. None of my friends saw this nor did I have memory of an altercation. Nonetheless, she contacted reporters to ‘get ahead’ of this news, who published an article about it. That afternoon I was charged with assault. 18 months later, the prosecutor filed a motion to dismiss the charges after no witnesses or evidence were presented. To this day, I’ve never had closure on whether an altercation actually occurred.
Today I’m 40 years old and have been sober for 7 years. It’s been 17 years since I was last violent (to my knowledge; see above). I will never drink alcohol or be violent again.
Entrepreneurship
Professionally, I believe that entrepreneurship is the most important social cause for the personal lessons it bestows and the positive impact it has on society. My mission is to empower as many entrepreneurs as I can.
Connecting People
Personally, I’m passionate about connecting people. I’ve spent my career bringing people together. Here are some of the communities I’ve created:
2008 — Boston Political Documentary Films: Documentary screenings and discussions.
2008 — Boston Illuminated Frisbee: Light-up ultimate frisbee at night.
2008 — Boston Co-Ed Flag Football: Co-ed flag football.
2012 — Grapevine: Creator economy marketplace.
2016 — 3210: Startup deep-dives and fireside chats.
2016 — CoWorking Night: Weekly hackathons and workshops.
2016 — NOVA Huntsville: Large networking events to connect local interest groups.
2021 — Constellation Dinners: Founder/investor restaurant dinners.
2022 — Fusion Mixers: Large networking events for founders and investors.
2023 — Supernova Dinners: Investor fundraising dinners.
Here are a few photos from experiences I’ve had over the past few years.
