Greg Fisher, PhD

Authors

Greg Fisher, PhD
Professor of Entrepreneurship
Indiana University Kelley School of Business

• 2024 Kelley School Research Award
• 2023 Eyster Teaching Award
• 2023 Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award
• Named “Favorite MBA Professor” by Poets & Quants

Entrepreneur → Scholar → Architect of Entrepreneurial Principles

Author of
The Principles of Entrepreneurial Progress
Published by Oxford University Press (2025)

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“I didn’t just need to write a good book.
I needed to write the right book — one that could stand up to academic scrutiny and earn a top-tier press.”

—Greg Fisher, PhD

What Changed?

Before:
Strong manuscript.
Clear intellectual contribution.
But no clear pathway to the right academic publisher.

After:
• Sharpened positioning around core principles
• Structured the manuscript for institutional rigor
• Aligned the concept with tenure-track expectations
• Secured publication with Oxford University Press

Not just a finished book.

A strategically placed book in one of the top academic presses in the world.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Clarify and organize my ideas
Establish a category or methodology

Constraints

Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Academic / educator

Rick Roth

Authors

President, Roth Equities, LLC
Real Estate Capital Markets Advisor & Investor
Adjunct Professor, UConn School of Business

• 30+ years in investment real estate
• Founder of Roth Equities (since 1999)
• Former Merrill Lynch Real Estate Investment Banking
• Adjunct Professor at UConn & NYU
• 2025 UConn Adjunct Professor of the Year

Author of
Teal Book of Wisdom (2022)

Rick has financed, advised, and invested across multifamily, retail, industrial, self-storage, office, hotel, and specialty assets — working with high-net-worth investors, professional athletes, and institutional owners.

But the book expanded his platform beyond transactions.

It elevated his voice.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“The book didn’t just share my experiences — it opened new conversations with investors, students, and industry leaders I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

—Rick Roth

What Changed?

Before:
Established investor.
Respected adjunct professor.
Strong industry network.

After publishing Teal Book of Wisdom:

• More investor conversations
• Deeper relationships with real estate leaders
• Expanded guest speaker network for UConn MBA
• Podcast invitations & author panels
• Companion journal & expanded intellectual property
• Greater credibility in capital markets discussions
• A lasting legacy for his children

The book became:

A calling card.
A conversation starter.
A platform multiplier.

Not just a book.
A relationship engine.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Clarify and organize my ideas
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Consultant / advisor
Academic / educator

Watch Deep Dive

Luisa Raimondo

Authors

Luisa Ramondo is a Senior Business Strategist and Global Real Estate Advisor at Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty.

Born to Italian immigrant parents, she grew up working in her family’s food market, where she learned discipline, grit, and service at an early age.

She holds a degree in Finance and Information Systems, built a career in business and real estate, and has been a licensed professional in Pennsylvania and New Jersey since 2008.

Her debut novel, Beyond the Cobblestones, is inspired by her mother’s immigration journey and has earned praise from New York Times bestselling authors and award-winning literary voices.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“If money were no object, I’d finish my book.”

—Luisa Raimondo

What Changed?

• Turned a lifelong private manuscript into a published work
• Earned national literary praise
• Elevated her profile beyond real estate into author & speaker
• Cemented her family’s immigration story as a lasting legacy
• Proved it’s never “too late” to finish what matters

Goal

Establish a category or methodology
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Memoir & Fiction Project

Watch Deep Dive

Desmond Dunham

Authors

Author, Running Against the Odds
2022 National Coach of the Year
Founder, Kids Elite Sports
TEDx Speaker
Under Armour Coach

From being cut…
to building champions.

The book didn’t make him a coach.
It made him a voice.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
"Running changed the trajectory of my life. This memoir let me tell that story."

—Desmond Dunham

What Changed?

After his book was published, he’s:

• 2022 National Coach of the Year
• Founder of Kids Elite Sports
• TEDx Speaker
• Under Armour Coach
• Youth development advocate

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Clarify and organize my ideas
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Consultant / advisor
Healthcare or technical professional
Nonprofit or mission-driven leader

Rahul Rana

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Authors

Rahul Rana didn’t start as a big-name investor.

He wrote his way in.

Before he was an insider, he studied frontier science, venture, and moonshot companies. He turned that curiosity into a book, Making Moonshots.

That book became leverage.

He sent a chapter to Josh Wolfe at Lux Capital.

No resume.
No formal application.

Fifteen minutes later, he had a job.

Today he invests in frontier tech and hard sciences at Solari Capital and has been recognized by Business Insider as one of the Top 29 VCs Under 30.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“The whole publishing program… changed the trajectory of my life.”

—Nico DeBruyn

What Changed?

Before the book:
• Curious
• Smart
• Unknown

After the book:
• Recognized thinker
• Hired by elite VC firm
• Nationally recognized young investor

The book wasn’t about sales.

It was positioning.

Goal

Establish a category or methodology
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

First-time author
Not a confident writer
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Academic / educator
Healthcare or technical professional

Stephanie Wisner

Authors

Stephanie Wisner began as a chemistry major unsure where she fit.

She didn’t want to spend a decade pursuing a PhD.

She didn’t want to abandon science.

So she asked a bigger question:

What if entrepreneurship could be applied to medicine?

That question became a book.

The book became a consulting business.

The consulting work became a startup.

That startup became Centivax.

She is now:
• Co-Founder at Centivax
• Forbes 30 Under 30
• Visiting Faculty at Cornell
• A biotech thought leader

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“If you combine science with entrepreneurship, you can solve the world’s biggest problems.”

—Stephanie Wisner

What Changed?

Before the book:
A scientist searching for direction.

After the book:
A biotech entrepreneur shaping the future of medicine.

The writing forced clarity.
The interviews built connections.
The positioning created opportunity.

The book wasn’t a side project.

It was a strategic pivot.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Establish a category or methodology
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

First-time author
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Founder / entrepreneur
Healthcare or technical professional

Sarah Mock

Authors

Sarah Mock is an agriculture and food systems researcher, writer, and advisor.

Raised on a family farm in Wyoming, she has worked across the ag ecosystem:

• USDA
• Non-profits
• Silicon Valley
• National media
• Directly with farms

Her work focuses on a hard question:

Can we farm differently — without exploiting farmers, workers, communities, or the environment?

Her book, Farm (and Other F Words), explores exactly that.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“…that’s what this book is, a community. It’s not a publisher’s story, or mine — it’s ours.”

—Sarah Mock

What Changed?

Sarah had a traditional book deal in 2016.

She wrote the manuscript.

Her publisher read it and asked,
“But why isn’t it The Omnivore’s Dilemma?”

Translation:
Make it something else. Make it safer. Make it familiar.

She walked away.

For a while, she gave up on books entirely.

Then she came back differently.

Instead of chasing approval, she went to her readers.

“I want you to own it. I want this to be your book.”

She launched on Indiegogo.
Raised over $17,000.
Built 380+ backers.
Kept creative control.

Hybrid publishing meant:

• Less money up front
• More ownership long term
• Editorial support without narrative compromise

This wasn’t just a launch.

It was a reclamation.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Support a consulting or speaking business
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Healthcare or technical professional

Nico DeBruyn

Authors

Nico De Bruyn didn’t have the “right” degree.

He studied nutrition.

He wanted to work in marketing.

No one took him seriously.

So he started small.
Did marketing for a friend.
Learned obsessively.
Reached out to people daily.

And then he did something most young founders won’t:

He wrote a book about marketing.

Today, he’s the Co-Founder & CEO of Boundless Media, helping outdoor living brands generate thousands of leads and scale smarter.

Over 75 clients served.
15,000+ leads generated.
Massive brands on the roster and a 7-figure agency.

All within a few years of graduating.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
"No One Took Me Seriously… So I Wrote the Book on Marketing"

—Nico DeBruyn

What Changed?

Before the book, Nico was “a kid trying marketing.”

After the book, he was:

An author.
A strategist.
A thought leader in his niche.

That shift matters.

Writing forced him to:

• Clarify what he believed about marketing
• Structure his ideas
• Reach out to experts
• Build relationships intentionally

“Guys, when Eric says reach out to one person a day, just do it. It compounds.”

Joe introduces you to Nate.
Nate introduces you to Sarah.
And suddenly you’re in rooms you had no business being in.

The book wasn’t about prestige.

It was about positioning.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Support a consulting or speaking business
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

First-time author
Not a confident writer
Needed structure and accountability

Role

Founder / entrepreneur
Consultant / advisor

Cleola Davis

Authors

Cleola Davis is a U.S. Army veteran and author of Forged in Battle: African American Officers Serving in the United States Army.

Her work documents the stories of African American officers whose leadership and sacrifice shaped military history.

Cleola did not begin as a writer.

She began with a responsibility.

After encouragement from a fellow service member who completed the program, she joined with hesitation, but also with conviction that these stories deserved to be preserved.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“I knew nothing about writing a book… but I couldn’t let these stories go untold.”

—Payton Lynch

What Changed?

Before the book, Cleola carried history in her head and heart.

After the book, she carried it into print.

“I know nothing about writing a book. I still don’t.”

That humility is real.

But she finished.

What changed wasn’t just her skill set.

It was her identity.

From veteran to published historian.

From participant in history to preserver of it.

Goal

Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Clarify and organize my ideas

Constraints

First-time author
Not a confident writer
Needed structure and accountability

Role

Academic / educator,
Nonprofit or mission-driven leader

Payton Lynch

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Authors

Payton Lynch is a Product leader at Disney, where she builds digital experiences rooted in storytelling and guest advocacy.

By day, she helps power one of the most iconic storytelling brands in the world.

By night, she became an author.

Her first book, Rise From the Ashes, tells the story of her father-in-law, Robert Henry Lynch Jr., the property manager of Two World Trade Center on 9/11 who safely evacuated, then went back inside to help others and never returned.

Her second book, The Journey to You, continues her exploration of resilience and purpose.

Modern Author Program

“ ”
“I woke up at 3am and knew I had to write this book.”

—Payton Lynch

What Changed?

Payton didn’t plan to write a book.

She woke up at 3am and couldn’t shake the idea.

What followed was a full year of:

• Writing while working full-time at Disney
• Weekly accountability
• Structured deadlines
• Community support

“Writing a book is achievable. But it’s not always easy, especially if you’re working a full-time job.”

The structure made it possible.

The community made it sustainable.

Goal

Clarify and organize my ideas
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
First-time author
Not a confident writer
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Executive / C-suite
Nonprofit or mission-driven leader