I've spent nearly nine years at Skuid and then Nintex, where I supported 200+ employees across the US and Canada through everything from rapid hiring waves to a 2023 acquisition. People Operations, recruiting, onboarding, benefits, performance, and learning and development.
I've handled the hard conversations. Comp resets. The first employee relations issue someone tries to bury. Onboarding programs that have to scale from five new hires a quarter to fifty. Building benefits when there's no template, only a deadline.
What I learned: most HR advice is written for HR teams, not founders. Founders need to know what to do on Tuesday when something breaks, not a 40-page guide to best practices.
Story-Built launched in March 2025 as the partner I wish founders had earlier, when I was the one being hired to clean up later. It's for teams of roughly 10 to 100 people who've outgrown the "we'll figure it out" phase and need the actual infrastructure: the policies, the hiring system, the comp bands, the manager training, before something forces it.
Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Working with founders across the US.
HR advice written for HR teams doesn't help founders on a Tuesday.
Most playbooks assume a People team already exists.
Culture is a system, not a slogan.
If it's not in your hiring, onboarding, and comp, it's a poster.
Your first ten hires are your operating system.
Defaults get set early. Reset them on purpose, or live with them.
Compensation conversations are a culture document.
How you say no to a raise tells your team more than the raise itself would have.
Academy to Innovate HR, March 2025
Academy to Innovate HR, January 2025
Society for Human Resource Management, since 2019
Skuid through the Nintex acquisition
Chattanooga talent acquisition meetup
Working with founders nationwide
