Nader Akhnoukh
Technology & Olive Oil Entrepreneur
Hi, I'm Nader. I've spent my entire career building tech companies, before falling down the rabbit hole of Portuguese olive oil. I run Wildly Virgin from Cascais, Portugal where I live with my amazing wife and three boys.I hope you are having a great day.
Work
I've been founding and growing businesses for 20 years. I love the process of going from an idea, to iterating on something meaningful that is really helping people.Wildly Virgin — I co-founded Wildly Virgin, a single-origin Portuguese olive oil brand sourced directly from independent producers across Portugal. We work with a small number of growers, bottle limited harvests, and have won back-to-back NYIOOC Gold Medals. This one started as curiosity and turned into something I care deeply about.Startup & Engineering Advisory — I advise CTOs, CEOs, and founders of technology companies on engineering leadership, org design, and technical due diligence. Most of my work is with early-to-mid stage companies navigating the transition from scrappy to scalable.NovaWulf — Head of Technology. We invested at the intersection of blockchain-based digital assets and traditional finance.Onward — CTO & Co-founder. Onward brought tech-enabled assisted transportation to elderly and mobility-impaired riders. Acquired by Royal Care in July 2021.Kapost — CTO & Co-founder. A content operations platform for marketing teams. Built over nine years, acquired by Upland Software in 2019.Tamale — Co-founder. The first research management software built for the finance industry. Built over six years, acquired by Advent Software in 2008.As you can see, I love to learn about new industries and work on new challenges. That keeps things interesting.At each of my technology companies, in the early days I've built the initial platforms, serving in a lead engineer role, and then as the team grows have transitioned to leadership. I enjoy both the process of developing directly and growing happy, effective teams.
Interests
Some things that interest me, that might also interest you.Travel
I am most at home seeing and learning about new places. In between companies, I've taken extended breaks to travel. You can see some of my travel photos, a blog that my wife and I wrote on our one year adventure, or the book that we wrote about that year.Photography
Recently I've shifted to using fully manual lenses, which has rekindled my love of photography. Photo websiteCeramics
I started studying ceramics in college, and have been doing it off and on for 25 years. The wheel is one of favorite mental places to be. I recently spent a month in Seto, Japan studying with Hiroshige Kato, a 13th generation pottery masterHobbies
I'm a naturally curious person, which means I like to experience many new things, though I can't claim to be great at any of these!Living in Colorado sparked my love of fly fishing. I'm a terrible guitar player and an avid European football fan. I roast coffee and enjoy gardening. Now that I live near the ocean, I'm trying to learn to surf. I'm obsessed with padel tennis, and play as much as my elbow will allow.Studies
I studied philosophy and computer science at Dartmouth.I occasionally tweet and blog.
Contact
Thank you
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