About
I’m JDM, and I help early-stage startups stop playing entrepreneur and start acting like scientists.
In other words: I don’t pitch pixie dust. I run experiments.
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I work with first-time founders who are stuck between idea and Series A, helping them trade startup theater for real-world traction — or gracefully abandon the idea before it drains their savings and sanity.
I do three things:
- Diagnose startup delusions: Through my public talks, newsletters like Founding with AI and Traction Thinking, and my Zero to Traction podcast, I show founders how to validate faster, pitch smarter, and build something the market actually wants — instead of whatever their whiteboard said last week.
- Run venture-grade experiments: At Traction Lab (and its consulting alter ego, The Right Box), I help startups, venture funds, and ecosystems design and run the experiments that move the needle. Think design sprints, go-to-market testing, and high-velocity venture validation — minus the buzzwords and ego trips.
- Build weird and wonderful things: From economic dev pilots to experimental accelerators, I collaborate with organizations that want to rethink how innovation happens — and aren’t afraid to test bold ideas in public.
It’s called venture science. It’s like startup advice, except it works.