Books Behind the Business

Read the book—or just join the conversation. 
Books Behind the Business is a chance to hear real stories, ask questions, and learn from local business owners. 

Books Behind the Business

June 24th

Featuring Ward Hendon of Dangerous Ventures and Caley Shoemaker of As Above, So Below

Ward Hendon will be discussing Speed & Scale by John Doerr.

Ward Hendon is an investor, teacher and entrepreneur. His career has ranged from practicing law, to starting and exiting a pioneering tech-enabled legal services firm, teaching MBA students, law students and incarcerated individuals, investing in promising new businesses, serving on boards and mentoring/advising a handful of entrepreneurs and CEOs.

Prior to Dangerous Ventures, Ward was a member of the founding team of Axiom Law. Axiom is the world’s largest and fastest growing non-traditional provider of tech-enabled legal services. With 6,900 lawyers, Axiom serves over half of the FTSE/Fortune 100 through 14 offices and 4 Centers of Excellence around the world. Axiom has been ranked #1 in Business of Law, #1 in Innovation in Corporate Strategy, and #1 in Innovation in Law Firm Efficiency by The Financial Times. The New York Times declared that Axiom is “rewriting the law firm business model,” and the Wall Street Journal reported that Axiom "aims to disrupt the way legal services are delivered to the country's largest companies." In 2019, Axiom was sold to Permira, a global private equity firm. Over the course of 15 years with Axiom, Ward sat on the executive management committee and held a variety of sales, operational and general management roles.

He is currently also a lecturer at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he teaches classes on entrepreneurship and impact investing; and at the UNC School of Law, where he teaches a class on lawyers and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Ward graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Chapel Hill Law School. He then clerked for the Hon. Wm. L. Osteen, Sr. (U.S. District Court for MDNC) before practicing corporate law for two years at King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta.

Ward is passionate about getting outdoors in a variety of ways that usually involve kids, a backpack, sticks, marshmallows, graham crackers and plenty of chocolate bars. He also manages a beehive that has resulted in precious little honey but plenty of bee stings and an incredible story involving a neighbor’s dog. He lives in Santa Fe, NM with his wife and three children.

Caley Shoemaker will be discussing The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle.

Caley Shoemaker began her career in craft spirits in 2009 with Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. As she worked her way up, she immersed herself in all aspects of the spirits production process, from grain selection through to fermentation, distillation, maturation, blending, and bottling. Caley fell in love with the process of crafting spirits from unique ingredients, and the magic that unfolds during fermentation, distillation, and barrel maturation.

In 2014 – Caley left Stranahan’s to take the helm at Hangar 1 Distillery, where she oversaw the complete build-out of the new distillery and brand home, then served as the Head Distiller and General Manager until 2020.

At Hangar 1, Caley was responsible for creating unique expressions to showcase a variety of botanicals and distilling techniques. She partnered with farmers, winemakers, coopers, and scientists from across the country in an effort to create truly special spirits – like Fog Point, vodka distilled from wine and cut to bottling proof with water collected from San Francisco fog. Caley is now at home in Santa Fe, and making spirits in this special place is her dream.

You can find Caley around the distillery most days, experimenting with botanicals she grew or foraged, creating alchemy in new styles of distillation, or talking shop over a dram of spirits. When not at the distillery, Caley is usually outdoors; hiking, running, or tending to her beehives and garden.

Books Behind the Business: A New Discussion Series

Books Behind the Business discussion series will bring local entrepreneurs, business owners, and social enterprise leaders together to share the books that shaped their journeys. Each session will feature a guest speaker discussing a book that influenced their leadership, strategy, or innovation, followed by an engaging conversation with attendees.

• Ongoing: Every other month on the fourth Tuesday.
• Refreshments will be served!

This initiative is part of a larger effort to make Santa Fe’s libraries key community-driven hubs for professional and economic development.

The Santa Fe Office of Economic Development supports and connects the local business community by providing resources for entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive. Through collaboration and knowledge-sharing, they help drive growth and innovation in Santa Fe’s economy.

Creative Startups, based in Santa Fe, NM, is a global leader in driving the growth of creative economies. Working with cities, states, and regions, they develop comprehensive strategies that address the unique needs of creative entrepreneurs and programs that grow creative companies. Through their Libraries as Launchpads initiative, we activate libraries as accessible small business support hubs and navigators for local business resources, helping entrepreneurs connect to the tools and networks they need to succeed.