About
Most founders are one story away from being understood.
I've watched good products lose to worse ones because the better team couldn't say why they mattered. That's the problem I work on. It's fixable.
I'm William Harper. I coach founders on positioning, storytelling, and the pitch. The gap between a product people use and one people talk about.
My whole thing is value first, technology second. I don't care how clever the build is if you can't tell me the business it changes. Get that right and the rest gets easier: the deck, the demo, the raise.
Why "Talk Pretty"
It started as a joke.
For years, when people asked what I do, I'd say my whole skill set is "talking pretty." It was a self-deprecating joke that kept turning out to be true. The people who could talk pretty got the meeting, the budget, the benefit of the doubt. The people who couldn't watched worse ideas beat them.
So I leaned in. Talking pretty means making a strong idea impossible to ignore. You lead with why it matters and let the substance carry the rest. It has nothing to do with sounding slick or dressing up a weak idea.
Background
The short version.
I've spent my career turning complicated things into something people understand. As a data and AI strategy consultant, I've built Snowflake and Tableau systems for Fortune 100 clients, led the data strategy for a B2C SaaS launch that raised loan-application completions by 25%, and started internal AI groups to teach consultants how to use generative AI without the hype. The through-line is simple: business value first, technology second.
Before the data work, I coached speech and debate. For years I taught students how to build an argument, defend it, and make a room care. A few of them reached national semi-finals. I've also done my time in sales, from fintech payments in London to a storefront floor, so I know the feeling of having thirty seconds to make someone believe you.
That mix is where Talk Pretty comes from. I've stood on both sides, the technical build and the pitch, and my job now is moving value from one to the other. I hold an M.S. in Business Analytics from Hult International Business School, and I'm based in Dallas.
Think we'd work well together?
Book a consult and tell me about your story.