When I was a kid, I learned how to fix up '57 Chevys and Impalas with my dad. I fell in love with the craftsmanship of it: taking things apart, learning how they worked and improving upon them with my own ideas and my own hands. I've been creating ever since.

For many years I owned Portenzo, a fabrication shop that designed and produced everything from high-end iPad covers to custom record players. At our height I had 20+ employees; we manufactured and shipped tens of thousands of products a year.

I left the shop behind in the pandemic, and am looking for new opportunities to create, improve, and grow.

• My basement holds one of the largest collections of vintage, industrial sewing machines in the Midwest
• I had top secret clearance as a technical illustrator in the Air Force
• I turned a pitching mat into cufflinks for the Chicago Cubs, and dugout benches into boot jacks for the Houston Astros
• Things I can't fix: procrastination, that weird smell in my girlfriend's garage, the global economy

• Hiring and firing; team-building and business operations
• Process engineering utilizing 5S and lean principles
• Negotiating commercial leases
• Commercial and residential construction/general contracting
• Employee engagement and culture building
• Creating an ethos of doing things right the first time