About

Who we are, and the story behind the framework.

Who We Are

StartEase is built by VentureEase Academy — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, classified 509(a)(2), dedicated to entrepreneurial education. We believe understanding yourself as an entrepreneur is the first step to building something that lasts. Our mission is to make that self-knowledge — and the tailored roadmap that follows from it — available to everyone, free to begin.

The Origins of the ETI

Damian Niolet as a Staff Sergeant in the US Air Force (circa 2014)

Overlapping water-ring stains on a tabletop were the impetus for the ETI

Damian Niolet presenting the Four Types of Entrepreneurs at the NACCE Pathways to Prosperity Conference

Framing the Framework

The ETI was created by Damian Niolet, a former Air Force Russian cryptologic linguist whose entrepreneurial spirit led him to separate in 2015. He'd never lacked for ideas — only a way to choose between them. With a master's in entrepreneurship but a short runway, he set out to build a practical decision framework that answered "What can I accomplish today?" rather than "What do I want to accomplish in life?"

Outlining his thoughts at his dining room table, he noticed four overlapping rings left by a water glass — a natural Venn diagram. He added that visual, color-coded dimension to the framework, and it grounded him so well he shelved his grandiose ideas and saw the framework itself as his best opportunity. A decade later, those "water stains" have matured into the Entrepreneurial Type Indicator and the Success Training in Entrepreneurship Program (STEP).

Contact Damian