About

I'm Max Stern — a Duke professor, startup founder, and operator based in Durham, NC.

I spent five years building Closure Software, a SaaS platform for funeral home management, from zero to $8MM ARR before selling the company for $48MM in 2022. Along the way I built a team, won enterprise clients, and went through a full M&A process — and came out the other side with a clear opinion on what separates founders who scale from those who stall.

Since 2023 I've been at Duke University as a Lecturing Fellow in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and at the Fuqua School of Business, where I teach five courses and manage Duke's student startup portfolio. I work directly with 100+ early-stage companies on go-to-market, fundraising, hiring, and operations. I also run the Melissa & Doug Accelerator.

I write here about entrepreneurship, building companies, and whatever I'm learning. If something resonates, I'd love to hear from you.