Prior to founding Firebrand, John served as Managing Director for Techstars, a leading startup accelerator with over 40 programs around the world. While at Techstars he ran three accelerator programs in Kansas City and invested in 30 startups.

John was previously a part of five startups, including one he cofounded. Before Techstars he spent nine years at UnitedHealth Group, managing large scale projects including scaling a business from zero to $2 billion per year and 1,500 employees in four years.

With a passion for building startup ecosystems, John has been active in the Kansas City startup community since 2012. He has also served as a guest lecturer at the business schools at the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Originally from Boston, John holds a BA in psychology from Clark University and enjoys hanging with his family, working out, playing the drums, and being an obsessive Red Sox fan.