An operator turned investor.

I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and got hooked on the business world in high school. In 2014 I headed to the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business to study finance, expecting a straight line into Wall Street.

That line bent. As a sophomore I met Alex Lieberman, who was writing a scrappy business newsletter for friends who found the financial press dry and dense. I was one of the first few hundred readers, saw what it could become, and joined him to build it. In 2015 we launched Morning Brew as a daily email, with me as co-founder and COO.

We grew it the unglamorous way. Campus ambassadors, relentless word of mouth, and an obsession with every dollar. By 2017 we had raised a $750K seed round; by 2018 we had crossed a million subscribers and I landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. In 2020, Insider Inc. acquired a majority stake in a deal that valued the company at $75 million.

“Take the left side of the Wall Street Journal and make it more engaging. That was always the idea.”

I took over as CEO in 2021 and we kept building: 4 million subscribers and $50 million in revenue by 2022, a daily news podcast in 2023, and 5 million subscribers by 2024. In 2025, Axel Springer fully acquired Morning Brew and I moved into the role of Executive Chairman.

These days I write about building media, the craft of newsletters, and what it looks like to go from operator to investor. I invest through Austin Rief Ventures and in Oceans Talent, a platform for building global teams. This site is where I think out loud.

I also keep profiles on Medium, about.me, Blogger, Tumblr, Issuu, Behance, SlideShare and Linktree, and my site is listed on Personal Websites.