This page is for Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship founders looking for free GTM feedback from a B2B SaaS marketing operator with five startup VP of Marketing roles.

For Duke I&E Founders

You're building through Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship with serious institutional depth behind you. Let's make sure the B2B marketing motion matches.

Free 30-60 minute GTM session for Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship founders. Honest feedback on your positioning, messaging, and early pipeline. No prep required. No pitch from me.

Request Your Free Session

Why this exists

I got help early. This is how I return it.

I have been VP of Marketing at five early-stage startups. Every one of them was built by people sharper than me on the technical side. What I could do that they couldn't, at least not yet, was take a complex product and turn it into a message that made a buyer say yes.

People gave me their time when I needed it most. That changed where I ended up. These sessions are how I build the bridge behind me.

The session is free because I think the right way to work with early-stage founders is to be useful before anything else. Some of those conversations turn into ongoing work. Most don't, and that's fine. The goal is that you leave with something you can act on that week.

If you're a Duke I&E founder trying to figure out how to sell what you've built, that's the conversation I want to have.

Who this is for

Built for the Duke I&E founder profile

You came through the Duke Startup Challenge or a Duke I&E program with a validated idea Duke I&E provides strong foundational support across disciplines. Now the question is: what does the first commercial motion look like in the market? That gap is where this session lives.
You're building in health tech, enterprise software, or research commercialization Duke founders often work at the intersection of medical research, engineering, and business. That's a commercially powerful combination. Turning it into a buyer conversation that converts quickly is the specific challenge.
You have Duke Angel Network interest but customer pipeline is thinner than it should be Duke Angel Network and Duke Capital Partners give you access to capital. Converting that into customer traction requires a commercial story aimed at a different audience with different motivations.
You're pre-Series A and want to sharpen GTM before your next raise The commercial traction you build in the next six months will define your fundraising narrative. This session helps you build the right motion now.

If you're a Duke I&E founder and at least two of those land, this session was built for you.

What we cover

30-60 minutes. One problem. Real feedback. Really free.

Positioning and messagingWhy your current language isn't turning technical depth into buyer urgency, and what to change first.

ICP sharpnessWhether your ideal customer is actually buyable at your stage, or whether you're aimed at a segment that can't move fast enough to matter right now.

Early pipeline structureHow you're generating demand, where the drop-off is, and what a realistic first GTM motion looks like with what you actually have.

First marketing hireWhether you're ready to hire, what to look for, and how to avoid the hire that looks right on paper and sets you back six months.

Your specific questionBring the thing that's been sitting on your whiteboard for three weeks. That's usually where we start.

No prep required. No slides. No pitch deck. Just show up and we'll dig in.

The Duke ecosystem

A few companies with Duke roots

Duke alumni have built notable companies across analytics, health tech, and enterprise. A few from the ecosystem.

Formlabs

3D printing platform founded by Duke alumni Natan Linder and Maxim Lobovsky. Raised over $100M and became one of the leading desktop 3D printing companies in the world.

Duke Alumni

Zenysis Technologies

Healthcare analytics platform co-founded by Duke alumni. Raised $32M with Andreessen Horowitz and serves governments and health ministries across multiple countries.

Duke Alumni

Otter.ai

AI transcription and meeting notes platform backed by Duke Capital Partners. Used by millions of enterprise teams for real-time meeting documentation.

Duke Capital Partners

Vestwell

Retirement savings and workplace benefits platform backed by Duke Capital Partners. Raised $125M+ serving mid-market and enterprise employers.

Duke Capital Partners

About Tom

Five startups. Marketing Leadership.

Duke produces a specific kind of founder: cross-disciplinary, often at the intersection of science and business, and surrounded by one of the most engaged alumni investment networks in the country. Duke Capital Partners and the Duke Angel Network create real access. What I help with is the commercial story that makes that access convert into customer traction.

I've been VP of Marketing at five B2B SaaS startups, from pre-revenue through Series B. The job was always the same: take a technically strong product, figure out who actually needs to buy it, and build the smallest marketing motion that proves the thesis before you scale it.

I run a Portfolio CMO practice with a small number of Series A and B companies. The free sessions sit outside that. No sales agenda.

More about my background

What comes after

Most sessions end at the session.

The session stands on its own. You'll leave with feedback you can act on. No follow-up pitch, no invoice.

A small number of founders want to keep going after the session. Some are trying to hire their first marketing leader and want a thought partner through that process. Some are a few months from a Series A and need someone in the room while they build the GTM motion. For those conversations, I work as an advisor or a senior marketing leader embedded in the business on a part-time basis, without the overhead of a full-time executive hire.

If that's relevant after we talk, I'll tell you what it looks like. If it's not, the session still stands. More on how I work with founders.

Common questions

Frequently asked

Is this really free for Duke I&E founders? What's the catch?

Yes. Fully free. No invoice, no pitch. I do a small number of these for founders in programs like Duke I&E because the conversations are genuinely useful to both of us. Duke produces strong cross-disciplinary founders and these sessions keep me sharp. The only ask is a real question.

I'm in a Duke I&E program or just finished the Startup Challenge. Is this the right time?

Post-challenge is the right time. The competition forces you to think rigorously about your business. Now the question is how to execute the commercial side. This session helps you build the pipeline motion before you hire a team to run it.

How is this different from the mentorship Duke I&E already provides?

Duke I&E's mentors cover a wide range: business model, fundraising, operations, research commercialization. This session is specifically about GTM: your ICP, your positioning, and your first pipeline motion. If the question is about selling what you've built, this is where you get depth.

I'm building in health tech or research commercialization through Duke. Is that your area?

Health tech and research-to-market are exactly where I've seen the most common GTM gaps. The technology is real and the clinical need is documented. The challenge is translating that into a commercial story that a payer, health system, or enterprise buyer can act on quickly. That's what this session is for.

What's the difference between this session and working with you as an ongoing advisor after Duke I&E?

The session is one conversation. You bring a problem, I give honest feedback, you leave with something concrete. Advisory work means I'm embedded part-time: team meetings, GTM strategy over months, accountable to pipeline. The session is the starting point. Advisory is for founders who want to keep going.

I heard about this through Duke I&E. What happens when I reach out?

Send one sentence on what you're building and one sentence on what you want to think through. I'll reply within 48 hours. The session is 30-60 minutes over video call. No deck, no prep.