Chris Fischer
Chris Fischer speaking with people at an event in 2025

Chris
Fischer

The long way here.

A few of the stops. The stories are the part that matters.

1999 STARTED IN TECH 2006 BEATPORT 2010 SHUTTERSTOCK YOU ARE HERE / 2026 GOODWORD + WOLF WORKS 2023 / LA → NEW YORK BY BIKE HOME / POUGHKEEPSIE
  1. Started in tech
  2. Beatport
  3. Shutterstock
  4. Los Angeles to New York by bike
  5. Goodword + Wolf Works
  6. You are here

Building companies and riding bikes.

I’m a technology and product entrepreneur, twenty-five years in. Co-founder and CPTO of Goodword, a relationship intelligence platform for founders and executives. Founder and managing partner of Wolf Works, a growth and AI advisory firm with an incubator for early-stage founders.

I started writing software at 15 and founded my first business at 19. I’m on my ninth startup now. Seven times a first-ten employee, three times a co-founder. Venture, private equity, public, and private. Nearly twenty of those years in New York.

I also run, ride bikes, renovate houses, and always have multiple projects going. This is where I write the stories behind all of it. What worked, what didn’t, and what was actually happening. The long version is the archive.

Chris Fischer and his partner Amanda dressed up at home, Amanda holding their tan Pomeranian Eva
Amanda + Eva
Chris Fischer carrying Mona, a grey Pomeranian, in a shoulder bag
Mona rides along

Two decades in New York City.

My fiancée Amanda and I live in Brooklyn. This year we celebrate our fifteenth anniversary with a wedding in Biarritz, France, at the base of the Pyrenees. We share a love of Pomeranians, art, and travel.

She’s my biggest fan. She’s backed me through multiple startup adventures, so she knows all the highs and the insane lows. She’s also backed me through Ironman races, marathons, and ultras, and she’s a two-time marathoner and accomplished cyclist herself.

Chris Fischer and his riding partner on a Los Angeles lifeguard tower at the start of the 2023 ride across the United States
Los Angeles, day 1 of 29

The other discipline.

I’ve trained and raced pretty much nonstop for the past fifteen years, running and cycling. In 2023 I rode from Los Angeles to New York in 29 days. One country, thirteen states, about 3,000 miles and 125,000 feet of climbing. I’ve also ridden coast to coast across the Pyrenees.

New York is one of the best places in the world to build a community through running and riding, and that’s what I did here. A lot of the stories in the archive come out of that life.

Two cyclists on an empty Texas farm road, one riding no-handed with both arms in the air
Texas, day 13 / @mini_usa_tour

Thirty marathons, give or take.

I’ve run something like thirty marathons. I stopped counting a while ago. At Boston in 2023 I helped a stranger across the finish line and we still broke three hours. I’ve won an age-group national championship in duathlon and finished the Vermont 100.

With all of that, running for me has always been about community. I’ve met so many amazing people and made incredible lifelong friends.

I’ve been a marathon coach for hundreds of runners. The archive covers a lot of it.

Chris Fischer running down the finish chute at the Duathlon National Championships
Age-group national title, duathlon
Chris Fischer with an arm around a fellow runner during the 2023 Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon, 2023

Recent posts

The latest twelve months, grouped by month.

August 2026 1 post
  1. The Long Way HereI build technology companies, work with startups, run and ride bikes, fix old houses, and start more side projects than I need.
July 2026 1 post
  1. Help Needed a HomeThe Goodword help center needed its own address, even though Intercom still hosted the support articles behind it.
June 2026 3 posts
  1. Onboarding, AgainGoodword's revised application went live with a new onboarding path that began after the paywall.
  2. Who Am I Missing?The inbox knew people the address book had forgotten, so we tested whether two-way conversations could find the gaps.
  3. Katonah on Two WheelsNeutral Ground came back to Katonah for a fourth year of road routes, gravel, and a cycling expo afterward.
May 2026 3 posts
  1. IRL ModeThe meetup was over, so the follow-up shared the recording and gave everybody a reason to try Goodword's IRL Mode.
  2. Android, FinallyGoodword finally reached Google Play, giving the Android application a public store listing and download path.
  3. Please List Our MCPGoodword's Claude connection was working. Getting it into the MCP directory meant another submission and review queue.
April 2026 2 posts
  1. Your Network, On StageAn April 30 Betaworks event listing put Goodword into a public discussion about networks and startup distribution.
  2. Too Many ToolsA new teammate needed the honest tour of every service Goodword used across product, marketing, and operations.
March 2026 3 posts
  1. Unofficial Means BetterAn informal meetup built around live Claude demos needed hosts, and my name ended up on the list.
  2. Claude Found the Right PersonA relationship question inside Claude became a live test of whether Goodword's MCP connection could find the right person.
  3. All My AI Tools, One DoorI had too many AI tools, too many separate connections, and one web portal trying to put them behind the same door.
February 2026 3 posts
  1. Meetings Need a DebriefAn AI meeting notetaker could capture the call. Goodword still needed to turn that record into a useful debrief.
  2. Where's the Login?Goodword's public homepage had no obvious way back into the product, even for people who already had accounts.
  3. Hunting Product HuntA Product Hunt launch added screenshots, copy, timing, and one more public door into Goodword.
January 2026 1 post
  1. Contacts, ConnectedA broken connector was keeping selected Goodword contacts out of the team's research system, so I repaired the path.
December 2025 3 posts
  1. The KICKR Went QuietAn indoor trainer connected normally but stopped broadcasting power data.
  2. Three Addresses, One InboxSupport, feedback, and general Goodword email all needed to land somewhere the team would actually see it.
  3. The Smoke TestWe walked through Goodword and wrote down the paths every release had to pass before it could surprise us again.
November 2025 2 posts
  1. Fine, Another ComputerI ordered a Raspberry Pi 5, more parts than the little computer needed, and another project for the pile.
  2. One List, Too Many ToolsAn opted-in email list needed a reliable trip from Google Sheets through cleanup and into Goodword's working CRM.
October 2025 3 posts
  1. Goodword Is LiveGoodword launched publicly after a year of building, several months of controlled beta work, and a lot of unfinished lists.
  2. What Should I Do Next?Goodword could find useful context, but the harder product question was what it should suggest somebody do next.
  3. You're InvitedThe Goodword beta was live. The invitation still had to make people want to connect their real accounts and try it.
September 2025 2 posts
  1. The Web VersionGoodword's early web version was almost ready for real people, which meant it finally needed a real test plan.
  2. Ship First. Email Later.The Goodword update had to be live and checked before the announcement sent people looking for it.
Archive