About
I build things.
Then I talk about it.
Grew up on a ranch in southern Arizona, six kids deep. When something broke, you fixed it. Nobody was coming to save you. That’s the foundation everything else got built on.
My first venture was a restaurant. It failed. Brutal at the time, best education I never paid for.
Started Freshly in 2012 because I couldn’t find healthy meals I actually wanted to eat. We raised $107M, scaled to 2,500 employees, and shipped over a million meals a week to all 48 states. Sold to Nestlé on October 30, 2020 for $1.5 billion.
The headline is the exit. The real story is the people who built it.
These days my work runs on three rails. I’m building Petfolk with my sister, Dr. Audrey Wystrach — connected pet care, 40+ centers across 8 states, NPS 90+. I’m investing through Cutting Horse, where my partner Chris and I have backed founder-led consumer brands like Ghia, Beam, Promix, Butternut Box, and more — helping create over $5B in enterprise value along the way. And I’m sharing what I’ve actually learned through The Advantage: a podcast and weekly newsletter. No corporate polish, no success theater — if it’s on the show, it actually happened.
The Portfolio
Companies I’m building, backing, and betting on.
Helped create over $5B in enterprise value and raised $300M+ for companies founded along the way.
Founded
04
Growth Equity · Fund I
Cutting Horse
$75M Fund I
Growth Equity · Fund I
Cutting Horse
$75M Fund ICo-founded with Chris Protasewich. $75M Fund I, oversubscribed. Backing founder-led consumer brands across food, health, pet, and consumer services.
Pet Care
Petfolk
40+ centers · NPS 90+
Pet Care
Petfolk
40+ centers · NPS 90+Co-founded with my sister, Dr. Audrey Wystrach. Modern, technology-driven veterinary care. 40+ centers, 8 states, NPS 90+.
Foundation
Council 1869
Nonprofit
Foundation
Council 1869
NonprofitChanneling donor contributions to local nonprofits serving families in poverty — education, food, housing, and health.
Food · Exited
Freshly
Sold to Nestlé · $1.5B
Food · Exited
Freshly
Sold to Nestlé · $1.5BFounded 2012. Healthy, ready-to-eat meals shipped to all 48 states. Raised $107M, scaled to 2,500 employees, shipping 1M+ meals/week.
Investing
11
Beverage
Ghia
Beverage
Ghia
Non-alcoholic apéritifs inspired by Mediterranean aperitivo culture. Pure ingredients, no added sugar.
Wellness
Beam
Wellness
Beam
Science-backed sleep and wellness supplements founded by former pro athletes. Best known for Dream sleep powder.
Sports Nutrition
Promix
Sports Nutrition
Promix
Grass-fed whey protein and clean, natural supplements built for athletes who actually read the label.
Pet Food
Butternut Box
Pet Food
Butternut Box
Fresh, human-quality dog food cooked gently and delivered to your door.
Wellness
Feel Goods
Seed led by Cutting Horse
Wellness
Feel Goods
Seed led by Cutting HorseFunctional powders for hydration, gut, and immune health. A community-led brand that scaled fast on TikTok.
Oral Care
SuperTeeth
Oral Care
SuperTeeth
Dental probiotics and hydroxyapatite toothpaste — formulated by parents and dentists.
Plant Medicine
BetterWild
Plant Medicine
BetterWild
Personalized custom plant medicine combining functional mushrooms and other supportive remedies.
Prop Tech
Cassi
Prop Tech
Cassi
An AI operating system for residential property management — assets, vendors, comms, and field execution unified.
Fitness
Lynx Fitness Club
Fitness
Lynx Fitness Club
Boston's luxury fitness club. Forward-thinking programming with an emphasis on community and customer experience.
Health Services
Soar Autism Center
Health Services
Soar Autism Center
Developmentally-appropriate autism therapy for young kids using the Early Start Denver Model.
Food
Ripi
Food
Ripi
Restaurant-quality frozen stuffed pasta — fine-dining filled pasta at home, no reservation required.
The Journey
How I got here
The Beginning
Southern Arizona
Ranch Kid
I grew up on a ranch in southern Arizona with five siblings. When something breaks on a ranch, there’s no one to call—you figure it out. That’s where I learned accountability, hard work, and what it means to solve real problems. Those values stuck with me through everything that came after.
The Lesson
Early Career
Failed Restaurateur
I’ll say it plainly: my first real venture was a restaurant, and it didn’t work. That failure was brutal, but it was also my education. I learned about capital needs. I learned about listening to customers. I learned about hiring the right people. Most importantly, I learned that discipline matters. When I built Freshly, I approached it differently because of that restaurant. Best MBA I never paid for.
Failure
Best education I never paid for
The Build
2012
Founded Freshly
Here’s the reality: I couldn’t find healthy meals I actually wanted to eat. That single frustration led me to see a massive opportunity in a $1.3 trillion industry. We raised $107M, scaled to nearly 2,500 employees, and shipped over a million fresh meals a week across all 48 states. The real story isn’t the numbers—it’s the people who believed in the mission from day one.
$107M
Capital raised
The Moment
2020
$1.5B Exit to Nestlé
Freshly was acquired by Nestlé for $1.5 billion. At the end of the day, the exit validated the work—but it was just one moment. The real value was always in the journey of building. The people we hired, the problems we solved, the culture we created. The exit is brief. The journey is where you spend your life.
$1.5B
Acquisition
Operating
2021
Co-founded Petfolk
My sister Audrey came to me with a vision. Growing up on a ranch, we learned something simple: when animals need medical care, you don’t make them wait. So we built Petfolk around that insight—connected care for pets. 40+ care centers across 8 states. NPS 90+—the most loved veterinary care group in every market we serve.
90+
Net Promoter Score
Cutting Horse · $75M Fund I · 14 portfolio companies
The Fund
2024 · Fund I closed Feb 2026
Co-founded Cutting Horse
Chris Protasewich and I have been collaborating in the consumer ecosystem for more than a decade — he was an early Freshly investor at Highland. Cutting Horse is the formalization of that work. $75M Fund I, oversubscribed, partnering with founder-led consumer brands across food, health, pet, and services. Together we’ve helped create over $5B in enterprise value and raised more than $300M for companies we founded. Now we’re putting that operator playbook to work for the next generation.
$75M
Fund I (oversubscribed)
What's Next
Building now
The Advantage — Coming Fall 2026
I’m building The Advantage because the best insights come from people who’ve actually built things. Not consultants, not theorists—operators. Real conversations about building, scaling, and leading. Episode one drops Fall 2026. Get on the waitlist and you’ll hear it first.
Principles
What I Stand For
Hard Work
No shortcuts, no hacks. Building real companies requires real effort. Period.
Truth-Seeking
I’m actively seeking truth about business, about myself, about the market. I’m not interested in comfortable narratives.
Authenticity
I admit when I don’t know something. I talk about failures openly. No false humility, no corporate speak.
Generosity
Sharing what I’ve learned—the good, the bad, and the in-between. I’m not here to gatekeep knowledge.