I’m Etienne, a founder and investor based in New York. Currently I’m building Mellies, a new-format functional snack brand, and helping businesses onboard AI agents through Ontara.

I got my start in consumer goods — I founded Monarch Caviar in college and grew it into a brand stocked by over 100 of London’s top restaurants, then built and distributed a handful of other food brands across the UK.

I’ve also spent time investing, working at venture firms Contrary and Autopilot covering vertical AI and serial acquirers. I write about most of it as I go.

This site is part portfolio, part open notebook. Have a wander:

• buildouts — companies and tools I’ve built
• writing — deep dives I’ve written
• books — what I read, and what stuck
• mental-models — the thinking tools I lean on
• tooling — tech I’m experimenting with
• places — photos from the road

📢 Reach out

email · x · github · linkedin · instagram

— etienne

Brick & Code

I write Brick & Code — a newsletter on AI, real estate, and the operators building in the gaps. I send it when I have something worth saying, and I read every reply.