Founder and CEO
Douglas Younger III is an entrepreneur, media creator, educator, and technology-driven business leader with over 20 years of experience operating at the intersection of innovation, commercialization, storytelling, and social impact.
He is the Founder and CEO of 3STEPS4WARD, a Silicon Valley–born, Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Small Business Enterprise (SBE)–certified marketing and innovation company that has supported more than 80 startups and growth-stage companies across fintech, healthtech, cleantech, edtech, and emerging technology sectors. Under Doug’s leadership, 3STEPS4WARD generated over $1.5 million in revenue, built distributed teams of marketers, designers, developers, and strategists, and helped founders translate complex ideas into scalable, market-ready businesses.
Doug is also the creator and host of Twist of Fate, a long-form interview platform and media brand focused on entrepreneurship, resilience, and reinvention. Originally launched as Twist of Fate: A Small Business Podcast, the show has grown into a multi-platform digital property with tens of thousands of followers, millions of impressions, and professionally produced 4K video episodes distributed across YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and emerging media channels. Through in-depth conversations with founders, executives, creatives, and community leaders, Doug explores how planning, passion, and optimism shape real-world outcomes. The brand now includes Twist of Fate Comics, extending the narrative into long-form storytelling and print media.
In parallel with his entrepreneurial work, Doug is an Adjunct Professor and Lecturer in higher education, teaching business, digital marketing, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He currently teaches at Cleveland State University and Oberlin College & Conservatory, and previously served as a lecturer at California State University East Bay, where he taught graduate-level MBA courses and delivered keynote addresses. Doug has also acted as a pitch competition judge, workshop facilitator, and executive speaker for university innovation centers and startup programs, mentoring hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students.
"I believe in the people who believe in me."
Before founding his own ventures, Doug held senior leadership roles across Fortune 500 companies, venture-backed startups, and nonprofit organizations, including Siemens Healthineers, GE Healthcare, Baxter Healthcare, Boston Scientific, Ekso Bionics, and United Imaging Healthcare. His work spans global product launches, FDA-regulated medical devices, enterprise marketing strategy, and commercialization efforts that collectively contributed to hundreds of millions of dollars in market impact. His background includes direct involvement in advanced medical imaging, robotics and powered exoskeletons, AI-driven platforms, and SaaS technologies.
Doug’s career also includes nonprofit leadership as Executive Director of a 501(c)(3) organization focused on public-health advocacy, as well as public-facing partnerships with professional sports organizations, including serving as a lead judge for the NBA Sacramento Kings Capitalize Pitch Competition and as an official corporate partner with the AHL San Diego Gulls, supporting diversity initiatives in professional hockey.
Academically, Doug holds a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medicine Biology from Bowling Green State University and an MBA in Marketing and Bioscience Entrepreneurship from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. Earlier in his career, he contributed to peer-reviewed scientific research published in the Journal of Forensic Science.
At his core, Doug is driven by reinvention—of businesses, careers, and narratives. Whether advising founders, teaching students, producing media, or building new creative platforms, his work consistently focuses on helping people turn uncertainty into momentum and ideas into durable impact.
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