Hey y’all.
I’m Zach.
I’m a writer, entrepreneurship professor, Army veteran, and operations leader based in Austin, Texas.
Learning by doing.
Writing it down.
My work has taken me from leading soldiers in Iraq to building teams in software, working in Apple Pay operations, and teaching entrepreneurship at UT Austin. Each setting has given me a different view of leadership, execution, and the choices that shape our lives.
I’m interested in how people turn an idea into something that works. That might mean asking a better question, having a difficult conversation, or putting a process in place that helps a team follow through.
The Prof Z Project is where I work through those ideas in public. I write about what I’ve experienced, what I’m learning, and the questions I’m still trying to answer.
I’m also a husband and a dad. Austin is home, and the life I’m building outside of work shapes the questions I bring to it.
Where the lessons come from
Leading under pressure
I graduated from West Point in 2008 and served as an Army Captain, with two deployments to Iraq. That experience continues to shape how I think about responsibility, preparation, and taking care of people.
Helping teams execute
My career spans software operations and Apple Pay. I’ve worked with teams of different sizes on the people, processes, and systems that turn plans into results.
Making ideas tangible
As an Assistant Professor of Instruction at UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business, I teach entrepreneurship. My students interview customers, test assumptions, and build business models through practice.
United States Military Academy, 2008MS, Technology Commercialization
UT Austin McCombs, 2022
A short bio
Zach Marshall is a writer, Army veteran, operations leader, and Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, where he teaches entrepreneurship. A West Point graduate, he served as an Army Captain with two deployments to Iraq before building a career in software operations and Apple Pay. Through The Prof Z Project, he shares lessons on leadership, execution, entrepreneurship, and building a meaningful life. He lives in Austin, Texas.
More about my work
What do you write about?
Leadership, entrepreneurship, execution, and the decisions that shape how we spend our time. You can read the essays at The Prof Z Project.
What do you teach?
I teach undergraduate entrepreneurship at UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business. Students develop ideas through customer interviews, experiments, and business models. View my UT faculty profile.
How can I get in touch?
For speaking engagements and other inquiries, use my contact page. To stay connected with my writing, subscribe to the newsletter.
A place to think out loud.
Essays on leadership, entrepreneurship, execution, and building a meaningful life.
Explore the essaysBring a question.
For speaking engagements, classroom conversations, or a question about something I’ve written, get in touch.
Contact Zach