ABOUT ME

Most kids saw a soda machine and saw a drink. At ten years old, I saw a margin gap.

While my classmates dropped a dollar into that dispenser, I was calculating the unit price based on what a full case cost at the grocery store. I realized that if I could handle the logistics (loading cold cans into my backpack), I would own the market.

So I asked my mom for an interest-free micro-loan: one case of Coke, to be repaid in seven days to prove the concept. She laughed and said, "Sure, Denny."

The next day, I undercut the machine by 50%. While most of my friends lived on a $5-a-week allowance, I was netting that same amount every morning before the first bell.

That backpack was heavy, but the lesson was worth its weight in quarters…

EXPERIENCE

I did not wait to start building.

At 19, I took a seat in a high-stakes telemarketing role at a venture capital firm. It sharpened my ability to sell under pressure and gave me a front-row seat to the world of start-ups. Within a few years, I transitioned from sourcing capital for others to funding my own projects. By 26, I had already launched a global poker website and acquired 60 acres along the Gulf Coast of Mexico for development.

I later joined an Inc. 500 marketing company to learn how national brands scaled. I put those methods to work when I launched my own agency in 2013. I have also contributed to Forbes since 2016, helping business leaders survive disruption—and thrive.

Over the past two decades, I have traveled to 30 countries and helped hundreds of companies secure category leadership. Today, I still look for the same opening I found in that cafeteria: Identify the inefficiency, provide value, and the consumer will respond.