About
E. Keller Fitzsimmons is an immersive storyteller, artist, and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Custom Reality Services, a virtual reality (VR) production company whose first two projects, Across the Line (2016) and Ashe ’68 (2019), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Across the Line received the Audience Choice Award at the Future of Storytelling Festival in 2016.
Her nonfiction book, Lost in Startuplandia: Wayfinding for the Weary Entrepreneur, chronicles her experience founding six companies across three industries over two decades. The book reached #1 on Amazon in its category and is currently taught in university entrepreneurship programs. In it, Fitzsimmons blends personal narrative with hard-won insight to explore failure, resilience, and meaning in startup culture.
She is the recipient of the Silvertip PwC Entrepreneurship Award and Speech Technology’s Luminary Award, and her work has been published by Network Computing, InformationWeek, and Inc. She is currently composing music and writing narrative fiction as part of the art collective VUCA.
Originally trained in religion and classics, Fitzsimmons earned her BA from the University of Rochester and holds a master’s degree from Harvard University.
Featured Work
Lost in Startuplandia: Wayfinding for the Weary Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship seems like a thrilling, lucrative adventure—until things go horribly wrong. As crisis after crisis hits, even the most seasoned founder can get disoriented. Whether you're in the throes of business woes or just getting into the game, E. Keller Fitzsimmons has written a field guide outlining the terrain to help you avoid getting Lost in Startuplandia.
Keller has been there, done that, starting six businesses over twenty years. In this honest, personal guide, she draws on her trials and triumphs, as well as those of fellow entrepreneurs, to share their most valuable lessons for surviving start-up failure. From staying self-aware to redefining success to prioritizing relationships, Keller illuminates the pitfalls that can make or break even the most resilient entrepreneur.
Startuplandia can be as exhilarating and rewarding as you dreamed—as long as you're ready to navigate the inevitable crevasses and quicksand along the way.
