More About Me

Why I’m Here

Hi, I’m Adam McGowan.

I’m passionate about helping entrepreneurs and their ventures succeed. And I believe that when it comes to startups, traditional approaches to decision-making and execution create more risk than is necessary. I consider that an enormous unmet opportunity — and the motivation for my daily work.

I help startup leaders and their ventures change how they think and act with respect to risk, reward and resources. And the results are striking: Larger, more frequent successes. Fewer, less painful setbacks. Faster, higher confidence decisions.

Today I deliver these outcomes as a startup problem-solver, a fractional COO, a coach and a content creator. I bring my operating system and methods to inspired leaders and their teams, helping them bulletproof their ventures and their vision.

My Experience

I’m convinced that elite startup operators aren’t born — they’re built. Similarly, The Startup COO framework wasn’t crafted overnight. My approach is the culmination of 25 years of experience across finance and entrepreneurship.

During my investment banking and hedge fund career, I analyzed risk and return for hundreds of deals valued at more than $10 billion.

As an entrepreneur, I founded and funded multiple ventures, experiencing the victories and battle scars of founder-hood firsthand.

And as a startup operator, I have advised, consulted, or collaborated with hundreds of ventures, contributing to their journeys from the front row. I often joined their teams at the highest levels, filling C-Suite roles as needed.


By compiling these deep and diverse experiences — both the wins and the losses — I developed a unique and tested toolkit for successfully operating a startup. And I want to share it with you.

Community Contributions

The startup ecosystem has afforded me many things — valued relationships, enriching opportunities, and constant inspiration, to name a few. To show my appreciation, I try to contribute to our shared community as often as possible.

I have mentored at various programs including LearnLaunch, the WIN Lab at Babson, MIT Hacking Medicine, the SCALE Challenge, and BUILD Boston.



As a featured speaker, teacher, or judge, I’ve has shared insights at General Assembly, MassChallenge, The Startup Coalition, Lean Startup Challenge, Intelligently, YouthCITIES, Radio Entrepreneurs, and TrepCamp.

I also founded The Spark Series — a community organization cultivating the inspired ideas of more than 250 founders, investors, and change-makers across 45 events.

Something Personal

I reside in the Boston suburbs with my wife and two daughters.


In my spare time, I enjoy woodworking, home improvement, and landscape design. Whenever possible, I try to evolve spaces with new cabinetry, furniture, or a well-placed flowering tree.

I aspire to be a lifelong learner, reading as often I can. One of my favorite books is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the wise Roman emperor who wrote:


“When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, remember that your defining characteristic – what defines a human being – is to work with others.”