MEDIA & INSIGHTS

Closure: From Idea to Exit
Duke I&E
Nov 7, 2025

The Favorite Course of MBAs
Poets & Quants
Sept 13, 2024

MEET MAX

Max Stern is an educator, operator, and entrepreneur. He is also a Lecturing Fellow at Duke University and the former Founder and CEO of Closure Software.In 2017, Max founded Closure Software, a funeral industry software company that made it easy to file notifications of death online. He bootstrapped the business to $8M ARR and 25 full-time employees before its acquisition in 2022.In 2023, Max joined the faculty at Duke University as a Lecturing Fellow in Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He teaches courses for student founders across all stages and industries, and in 2024 was named "The Favorite Course of MBAs" by Poets&Quants.Max lives in New York City and continues to teach at Duke (via long commute).

WORK DOMAINS

My work typically spans 3 domains: teaching, advising, operating, and program management.

  • Formats typically include some combination of 1:1 sessions, team workshops, and asynchronous audits.

  • Deliverables typically include breakthrough solutions to specific business challenges, the direct implementation of technical systems, and an aligned team prepared to tackle similar problems in the future.

LET'S ENGAGE

I work with startup founders and teams in one of three ways: as a teacher, as an advisor, or as a fractional operator.

  • Engagements typically include some combination of 1:1 sessions, team workshops, and asynchronous audits.

  • Deliverables typically include breakthrough solutions to specific business challenges, the direct implementation of technical systems, and an aligned team prepared to tackle similar problems in the future.

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