Entrepreneurial DNA
About You
You are a founder or creator at an inflection point.
About You
You are a founder or creator at an inflection point.
You are at an inflection point.
You have built something that works.
Now a different question emerges: how does this business fit into your life?
And what must be decided now so that success does not cost you who you are?
Founders design the business. They rarely design the founder-business relationship.
About Me
I work with founders to bring clarity and structural alignment to the businesses and lives they are building.
About Me
I work with founders to bring clarity and structural alignment to the businesses and lives they are building.
My name is Erica Starks.
I began my career in feature animation at The Walt Disney Company and in the Broadway industry in New York.
At 26, I founded NewYork60, a multilingual international ticketing platform for Broadway shows. The company was profitable within months and remained intentionally lean as it generated over 22M USD in revenue across ninety countries over fifteen years.
We grew organically, without outside capital. Lean structure, disciplined cash management, and speed of decision preserved independence.
As my family grew, the business evolved with it.
I learned that resilience is not reactive. It is designed.
Today, in addition to running my own ventures, I advise founders operating under similar levels of responsibility and ambition.
Philosophy
At the center of your business and life is something deeper than tactics or trends. That is your DNA.
Philosophy
At the center of your business and life is something deeper than tactics or trends. That is your DNA.
Entrepreneurship has two sides: freedom and responsibility.
Structure determines the balance between those two sides.
The structure through which you decide.
The structure through which you grow.
The structure through which you lead.
The structure that determines whether what you are building is sustainable.
Over time, that structure shapes the decisions you make, and those decisions shape not only your company, but your time, your identity, your relationships, and your future.
I call that structure DNA.
Personal DNA
Who you are beneath the roles you play.
Your values.
Your risk tolerance.
Your ambition.
Your non-negotiables.
Your patterns under stress.
Without this clarity, success or failure can pull you into a life you did not intend to create.
Brand DNA
What you are offering, and to whom.
The problem you solve.
What you stand for.
Who it is truly for, and who it is not for.
Why someone should choose you.
Clarity here simplifies marketing, partnerships, pricing, and growth.
Leadership DNA
How you decide and how you lead.
How you handle pressure.
What kind of people thrive around you.
How others experience you when the stakes rise.
Whether you intend to or not, you are shaping culture. Blind spots compound with scale.
AI DNA
How you integrate AI into your thinking and workflow.
Where it increases leverage.
Where it introduces noise.
How to use it as an amplifier rather than a distraction.
AI is not strategy. It magnifies whatever foundation you give it.
Methodology
When we work together, we clarify four dimensions: personal, brand, leadership, and AI.
Methodology
When we work together, we clarify four dimensions: personal, brand, leadership, and AI.
When we work together, I take time to understand how you see yourself and your business across the four dimensions.
Where are you clear?
Where is there tension?
Where is momentum building, and where is friction increasing?
From there, we decide where to focus.
We have structured conversations. I ask direct questions. I name patterns you may not see yet. We write things down.
What has been swirling in your head becomes clear on paper.
Once it is clear, you can make better decisions.
Deliverables
Together we build four strategic DNA documents.
Deliverables
Together we build four strategic DNA documents.
Together, we write four documents.
Personal DNA
Brand DNA
Leadership DNA
AI Framework
Each one is clear, specific, and written in language you can use.
You leave with something concrete.
A reference point for decisions.
A guide for growth.
Documents you can share with your team or your family.
Engagement
We begin with a conversation to assess alignment, define priorities, and set the pace.
Engagement
We begin with a conversation to assess alignment, define priorities, and set the pace.
We begin with a conversation to see if there is a fit and to define the pace of the work.
I work with a small number of founders and creators at any given time.
This work is for people carrying real responsibility and building something that matters to them.
Engagements usually take one of two forms:
A focused sprint to clarify direction, positioning, and leadership.
Or ongoing advisory during periods of growth, change, or recalibration.
All work is confidential.
Contact
All inquiries are direct and confidential.
Contact
All inquiries are direct and confidential.