William MerrickWilliam Merrick

Madison, WI area

William Trew Merrick

Startup captain. He charts the course and runs the ship.

Ad astra per aspera

Founder, employee #1 through acquisition, strategic advisor to startups, and builder of the systems that let a small crew do the work of a fleet. He turns complex problems into simple plans that executives can act on.

  • 180+simultaneous implementations on a system he built
  • Employee #1through acquisition by MAI Animal Health
  • $100k+first-year revenue at the agency he founded
  • 1,000+veterinary clinics reached at Sentier HC

Biography

William builds companies from the inside. He was employee #1 at Sentier HC, a veterinary medical device startup, from startup to acquisition by MAI Animal Health, running sales, distribution, warehouse and systems. He worked at three medical-industry startups in all: Sentier HC, JangoBio and Imbed Biosciences.

He founded Promote Local, a marketing agency that was his idea; he led it, then handed it off. He started his career as a business analyst at SOLOMO Technology, where he learned to turn what clients say into what engineers build.

Through TM Initiatives, his consultancy, he helps clients with everything from startup business strategy to Microsoft and other tool implementation to full custom ERP development and implementation. He currently works in enterprise implementation at a technology advisory firm, where he built the Airtable, Microsoft Power Automate and AI system his team uses to run 180+ implementations at once.

He holds a B.S. in Economics and Psychology from UW-Madison. He is a U.S. Navy veteran.

Character Attributes

  • Intelligence Systems design, analysis

    Designed the Airtable and AI implementation platform at his current firm. Business analysis and SQL at SOLOMO. B.S. Economics with a math emphasis.

  • Charisma Sales, channel, training, investor pitches

    Grew Sentier to 1,000+ clinics and trained 300+ distributor reps. Grew Imbed's veterinary revenue from under $5,000 to over $90,000. Builds and presents investor decks.

  • Perception Requirements, QA, spotting gaps

    As a business analyst at SOLOMO he gathered requirements, saw the gaps and asked the right questions, a strength he still uses in sales. Tracks supplier gaps at his current firm. Fielded Sentier's beta program questions and ran ISO 9001 batch QA.

  • Memory Domain depth

    Veterinary devices (Sentier, Imbed), wound care, and telecom and ISP implementations.

  • Willpower Founding and grinding execution

    Bootstrapped Promote Local to $100k+ in its first year. Employee #1 at Sentier. U.S. Navy service. High school wrestler.

Papers and Service Record

Certification
Google Project Management Certificate; PMP-eligible
Quality
ISO 9001 batch QA and lot management (Sentier HC warehouse)
Patents
Named inventor on patents
Education
B.S. Economics (Math Emphasis) and Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2012. President of a student organization.
Methods
Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall

Service record

  • Machinist's Mate, U.S. Navy, Honorable Discharge (2003 to 2006)
  • USS Enterprise, Main Machinery Room No. 2

Currently Training

  1. TM Initiatives His consultancy

    Fixed-scope Airtable operations systems that replace CRM, project management and spreadsheet ops for small businesses.

  2. BusinessOS Startup

    Custom software development using an AI-first approach with expert oversight and orchestration. Currently building a custom ERP for an industrial baker as the cornerstone client.

  3. Advanced Equine Insight Advising

    Connected the company with distributors and the University of Wisconsin veterinary school.

Skill Tree

88 skills across 12 trees, each rated I to V and backed by evidence from the record.

  • AirtableV
  • Implementation / multi-project managementV
  • General management (running the whole company)IV
  • Executive communicationIV
  • CRM / ERP / PM system designIV
  • B2B / consultative salesIV
  • Distributor / channel trainingIV
  • Go-to-market launchesIV
  • Pitch decks and investor relationsIV
  • Sourcing and vendor managementIV
Open the full skill tree

Charts

The voyage so far, port by port, from the Navy to today.

  1. 2003U.S. Navy
  2. 2012SOLOMO
  3. 2014Promote Local
  4. 2016Sentier HC
  5. 2018JangoBio
  6. 2019Imbed
  7. 2022TM Initiatives
  8. 2022Current firm
Open the chart

Commendations

Professional recognition on file. The seals are decoration, not military medals.

  • Top 25% revenue earner

    Account management period at his current firm.

  • Promoted twice at his current firm

    February 2024 into implementation and project management; later to implement and manage the PM Center of Excellence.

  • Employee #1 through acquisition

    Sentier HC, acquired by MAI Animal Health. The Vetcorder is still sold through MAI Animal Health.

  • VCA catalog inclusion

    Secured inclusion of the Vetcorder in the Veterinary Centers of America catalog.

  • Google Project Management Certificate

    PMP-eligible.

  • U.S. Navy, Honorable Discharge

    Machinist's Mate, 2003 to 2006.

Hail the Ship

Based in the Madison, WI area.

Reach William on LinkedIn.