The Professional Case

Princeton University, History degree. Varsity football, Ivy League champions. Tuck Business School, Bridge Program. Started my first business in high school, scaled my non-profit in college.

Since graduating from Princeton, I've had the opportunity to teach in an inner city school with Teach for America, produce an award-winning documentary, win a Startup Weekend, consult for a Fortune 500 tech unicorn, and found or lead 4 high impact ventures, each one rooted in expanding access through technology.

At Roots of Hope, I built a community of 900 leaders across 99 universities. At Mobile Accord, product strategy and user research drove 304% growth in active users. At RisOn, a coaching platform I co-founded and led as CEO, we built something people actually stayed for: 19-month average client retention and a 4.7 out of 5 rating across 500+ sessions.

In between and around all of it: coaching founders and executives navigating existential challenges across life and business. Problems that look like technical problems often turn out to be human ones.

→ work.christophermax.com

The Human Story

I grew up a lego-building Cuban kid in Miami with big dreams. I prayed every night for help making the most of my talents and abilities. A kid who knew his gifts mattered and knew he couldn't develop them alone. That prayer never stopped.

When my family hit a rough patch, I started my first business to raise money to get noticed by college football coaches. That resourcefulness and tenacity helped me land at Princeton.

Then days before I turned 30, my business collapsed and my longest relationship ended at the same time. I had poured everything into both. The external life looked solid. The internal one had hit its rock bottom.

Out of that came two things I've built my life around since.

Perspective on control. No matter how talented, educated, connected, or hardworking you are, outcomes aren't yours to control.

Agency over your inner world. You can't control outcomes, but you can control the foundation you operate from. I resolved to rebuild from the inside out: sourcing validation internally, practicing presence, developing emotional maturity.

The years since have put these lessons into action. I led dozens of retreats and hundreds of coaching sessions. I trained in myofascial bodywork, learning how the body holds what the mind hasn't processed.

And I have proudly worked one-on-one with founders and executives navigating the gap between achievement and alignment. Between the life they've built and the one they actually want.

Above all, I have kept building — most recently a padel matching app and this site, because the builder in me doesn't stop even when the coach in me is fully online.

So that little boy's prayer is still alive. Now answered with experience, community, and practices rather than just accolades.

(But he'd also smile real big knowing he was inducted into Belen Jesuit's Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 2025!)