I’m an entrepreneur turned product and GTM leader who builds businesses where relationships are the moat. 

At Pavilion, I lead our Product (aka Member Programs) team, overseeing the programs and experiences that make Pavilion what it is — from Pavilion University and Mentorship to Functional Groups, Small Councils, Chapters, and the broader Community experience. 

My focus: create products that help go-to-market professionals achieve their fullest career potential.

Before Pavilion, I founded Firneo, a learning community for Partnerships and Business Development professionals.

I’ve also had the chance to work at both rocketship startups (like WeWork) and Fortune 500 enterprises (like American Express and Dow), which taught me how to scale ideas, teams, and impact.

My background as an entrepreneur and partnerships operator shapes how I lead: I’m results-driven, deeply empathetic, and comfortable navigating complex, high-stakes environments where strategy, execution, and relationships intersect.

Every morning, his desk would crackle with the sound of freshly brewing coffee from the Mr. Coffee he kept in his cubicle.

It's been almost 20 years since I met Alan Stein as cubicle-neighbors in the American Express tower.

I've been fortunate to remain friends long after we parted as colleagues, and as he soared to new heights at Google, Facebook, Meta, and as startup founder at Kadima Careers.

I'd admired how he built his business. "You're killing it," I'd say.

What I (and probably most people) didn't realize was how much the stress and challenges of the entrepreneurial journey were killing *him.*

We had a hearty chat over a meaty lunch yesterday at Hamburger America (as evidenced by my post about another Amex reunion a couple weeks at a grungy noodle joint, I clearly identify more as "chowhound" than "foodie" with a taste for decidedly un-fancy meals). 

He shared the story of his last 67 days in recovery -- an intentional detox from the stress and stressors that brought him and his family to the brink.

He looked and sounded happier and healthier than I'd seen him in years.

But here's what struck me: despite knowing someone for most of my adult life, you never know how much you don't know. We keep so much of our stress and struggle locked inside that most people never see it.

It's cliche to say "you never know what someone's going through." But relationships are what afford us the opportunity to be there for someone. To have the kind of trust where they can share what's really happening.

Another chat with a colleague-turned-friend, and another reminder of what I really treasure most about keeping up a strong "network": building and maintaining relationships, not as a means to an end, but as the end itself.

In business, in careers, in life, and sometimes at the intersection of all three.

Scott Pollack

I build businesses where relationships are the moat – GTM, ecosystems, and community-led growth

When I was younger, I'd look at people who were content to stay in the same job, at the same level, for years or decades with mild contempt. 

What's *wrong* with them? Why aren't they striving for more?

But I get it now.

I had a conversation a while back with my friend James Queen who told me about the "Post-Achievement" stage of life & career: that point when people who've achieved great heights suddenly turn it in for a "simpler" life. 

The high-powered executive becomes an executive coach. Corporate leader to cafe owner. Ladder-climbing VP to fractional consultant.

I caught up today with my old American Express colleague Laura Nelsen. We remarked on how NYC amplifies ambition - almost like the geography itself adds to the burnout. It takes highly ambitious people and makes you strive even harder. 

It's exhilarating, but exhausting.

Being a striving, overachiever seems great when you're in your 20s. But in your 40s and 50s, you realize it's not all it's cracked up to be.

There's always a higher rung on the ladder. And success begets stress. Burnout lurks.

That's what I was missing all of those years ago, when judgement clouded my vision. I was blinded to what those non-striving colleagues who were living simple lives of contentment had all along: 

Enough.

I wish I had it then. But I'm happy to be finding it now.

"Keep your knees bent"

He didn't know he was giving advice. But Jeremy Schwartz dropped this nugget of career wisdom that I think ambitious person should heed.

Jeremy and I were introduced in 2012, when he was a friend-of-a-friend (thanks Graham Siener!), former-lawyer-turned-startup-founder thinking about his next gig. 

A bit later, a chance introduction I made led to a 13-year (and going!) stint at Squarespace where he went on to conceive, build, and scale their $100M+ channel program from scratch.

Over breakfast last week, we were dissecting what led to his success in building a business unit that drives a double-digit % of revenue for a multi-billion dollar company.

It's not easy to survive (let alone thrive) at a company for more than a decade -- it requires intestinal fortitude to manage the rollercoaster of org changes, strategy shifts, market cycles, and more.  

But he off-handedly told me that a mantra that he embodies, and encourages his teams to remember: "Keep your knees bent."

It's familiar advice for any athlete - stay in a ready stance, so you can strike, pivot, or react, no matter which way the ball goes.

Having worked at some of the largest enterprises and fastest-growing startups, let me tell you: that's gold advice at any stage.

Stay light on your feet and be ready to move is good advice at every stage.

It's easy to get nauseous from change. To reject pivots out of fear or get tired of change.  

But you can't birth a unicorn without being adaptable.

I love having these catchup chats and seeing my friends thrive. 

But selfishly, I also love being able to take away those poignant reminders (and unexpected advice) that remind us all of why they succeeded in the first place.

Some of the most important work I've done never showed up in a metric.

The conversation before a meeting that prevented an escalation.
The context shared privately that changed a decision.
The alignment created before anything broke.

None of that looks impressive on paper.

But when it's missing, everything gets harder.

Relationship-driven work often goes unnoticed -
until it's no longer there.

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