Why Do Automation Projects Fail So Often?
Why do automation projects fail? Learn the operational causes behind stalled builds, poor adoption, and missed ROI - and how to prevent them up front.
Read the articleChris Myers · Denver, Colorado
I help small businesses build what comes next.
I’m a CEO, founder, educator, and author. My work connects small-business financing, practical AI, and the everyday decisions of leadership.
CEO, B:Side Capital Faculty, ASU W. P. Carey
5,500+
Businesses financed by B:Side
Across its institutional history
2020
Leading B:Side as CEO
Small-business lending
2018
BodeTree sale
Founder & former CEO
01 / The work
Different roles.
The same commitment.
I back the people building businesses: with the capital to grow, tools that make the work easier, and ideas they can put into practice.
CapitalB:Side Capital
Mission-based lending for small businesses across the American West. I lead the strategy and the team behind the work.
TechnologyMain & Machine
Practical AI for small businesses. Our team builds systems around the work people do, with human judgment at the center.
LeadershipThe Fourth Turning Leader
Books and essays on character, judgment, and leading through upheaval. A practice for the decisions that don’t come with a manual.
EducationArizona State University
Teaching entrepreneurship and management, bringing the experience of building companies into the classroom.
02 / Latest writing
The latest from my desk.
New writing from The Ampersand, The Dispatch, and The B:Side Way. One recent article from each publication.
How Institutions Lose Legitimacy Under Pressure
How institutions lose legitimacy when leaders evade standards, hide decisions, and mistake legal authority for public trust under pressure in crisis.
Read the articleJudge Slowly, Trust Completely
The leader who withholds trust to avoid getting burned again ends up teaching the whole team to withhold it from him.
Read the article03 / Books
For the decisions
that stay with you.
On building a company, leading its people, and deciding what you will stand for when the pressure rises.
Featured book · The Fourth Turning Leader
Honor Under Pressure
Building a code that holds when everything else fails.
How do you lead when familiar rules stop helping? Through historical leaders and the choices they faced, this book explores how to build a personal code before you need it.
The B:Side Way
Leading teams with purpose, drawn from the daily work of running a mission-based lender.
Buy on Amazon ↗
Enlightened Entrepreneurship
Honest lessons on starting and growing a business without losing yourself in the process.
Buy on Amazon ↗04 / A little background
I’ve been on both
sides of the table.
Founder. Lender. Teacher.
Still learning.
I founded BodeTree and led it through its sale in 2018. Today, I lead B:Side Capital, chair Main & Machine, and teach at ASU. Building a company and backing someone else’s company give you different views of the same decisions.
The question I keep coming back to is practical: what would actually help the person responsible for this business? Sometimes it’s capital. Sometimes it’s a better tool. Sometimes it’s a clearer way to think about a hard call.
Read the longer biography
05 / Get in touch
Let’s start
a conversation.
For speaking, interviews, or a shared idea, email me directly. Tell me a little about what you have in mind.
Email Chris chris@bsidecapital.com