I'm Mike

I grew up in Saratoga, in upstate New York, and spent my summers in the Adirondacks. That's where my love for the outdoors started, especially biking and hiking. I attended Hudson Valley Community College before moving to NYC to study economics at Columbia University.

I love traveling (check out the tickets below for photos), and lately I've been training for a half marathon. Once you hit 25, it's either running or pickleball. I should have gone with the latter.

I've been trying to trade the nightly Netflix binge for a book, with a goal of reading one new book each month. My most recent read was Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber. I also love cooking and spending a weekend exploring a museum I haven't visited before.

I spend a lot of time following questions that interest me. Recently, I've been researching how AI is changing the tasks within jobs: which tasks people still do themselves, which they delegate to AI, and what oversight that requires. I'm particularly interested in how those changes differ across industries and how quickly they happen as new models are released.

I also organize an annual book drive across more than 10 universities and businesses, donating books to incarcerated people throughout New York State. I believe everyone should have access to education, and this is one way I try to contribute.

Professionally, I've been the first growth and data insights hire at WOM, an a16z-backed startup in Speedrun 006, done freelance growth work for companies like Sage, and founded my own food delivery platform, NiBL. Those experiences have taught me a lot about finding the right partners, managing a budget, making hiring decisions, and recognizing when it's time to change direction.

I'm happiest when I'm deep in research or building something I believe can make a difference.