Data Engineer → USMC Intel Officer → NYU Stern MBA → GEO Strategist
I spent five years in Marine Corps intelligence leading teams through ambiguity. Processing massive amounts of data, finding the signal, making calls that mattered. Now, as an MBA candidate at NYU Stern, I'm building Franklin Ridge to do the same thing for small businesses trying to get found on AI search.
At 12, I built a website for my dad's small electric motor repair shop. He was great at fixing motors. He was not great at getting found online. I got hooked on fixing that problem.
That led me through a degree in Economics at the University of Maryland, a big data engineering role at Allstate, a commission as a Marine Corps Ground Intelligence Officer, a SkillBridge transition into private equity, and now an MBA at NYU Stern. Along the way I landed on the realization that AI search is about to do to small businesses what Google did in 2005. Except this time, most business owners have no idea it's happening.
Franklin Ridge exists because someone needs to be in the corner of the businesses that can't afford to hire McKinsey. That someone is me.
Built a website for my dad's electric motor repair business before I could drive. Learned that small businesses have a visibility problem and never stopped trying to solve it.
Evaluated PrestoDB query federation capabilities. Built database connectors for MySQL and Oracle systems at enterprise scale. Saw firsthand how massive organizations pipe, structure, and query data. The same infrastructure that powers the AI models we optimize for today.
Led two intelligence units. Deployed to the Indo-Pacific. Held a TS/SCI clearance. Commanded Headquarters Company, Combat Logistics Regiment-17. The Marines taught me how to take incomplete data, find the pattern, brief it clearly, and act on it fast. That's exactly what GEO requires.
Transitioning from active duty, I worked in PE evaluating businesses. What makes them valuable, where growth hides, and how to read a market. That lens is exactly how I approach GEO: what makes AI choose one business over another?
Currently pursuing my MBA at one of the top business schools in the world. Applying cutting-edge strategy, entrepreneurship, and analytics coursework directly to Franklin Ridge. Building this business with the resources and network of Stern behind it.
GEO isn't a creative exercise. It's an analytical one. You need someone who can reverse-engineer how AI models source and rank information, build a strategy around it, and adapt every week as those models change. That's intelligence work. That's what I trained for.
I will tell you if GEO isn't right for your business.
I will never sell you work you don't need.
I will share everything I learn. That's why our research is open source.