Meet Dao Starita, Financial Adviser @ Merrill Lynch / Co-organizer @ 1 Million Cups Lincoln

1 Million Cups Lincoln is a weekly meetup aimed at entrepreneurs to help them share their stories, network with local resources and form a sense of community. The event is hosted at Don’t Panic Labs and is celebrating 10 years this Wednesday, Dec. 17.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur or support other entrepreneurs?

I spent over a decade in product development, helping build startups and new product lines from the ground up. That experience taught me how founders think, balancing calculated risk with uncertainty. When I transitioned to financial advising, I realized the principles are similar: understanding priorities, planning strategically and adapting as circumstances change.

I stay connected to the entrepreneurial community through 1 Million Cups Lincoln, where I help facilitate conversations with founders. Hearing their stories keeps me grounded in what it takes to build something meaningful.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you were just starting out?

First: You’re more capable than you think. You don’t need to have it all figured out before you start. When I moved from product development to financial advising, I questioned whether I’d made the right decision. Over time, I learned that skills transfer — understanding systems, coordinating stakeholders and thinking strategically.

Second, I’d also remind myself to trust the process. Progress doesn’t always feel fast, but it matters.

And finally: Invest in relationships authentically from the start. When I shifted from a transactional mindset to genuinely understanding and helping people, everything changed.

How do you stay motivated when things feel overwhelming — or stagnant?

Honestly? I’m still figuring this out. I’m wired so that “overwhelming” and “stagnant” feel like opposite sides of the same problem.

What helps is reframing what “progress” means. When overwhelmed, I focus on one meaningful thing rather than 10 urgent things. When stagnant, I remind myself that relationship-based businesses compound slowly. The work I’m doing today might not show results for months, and that’s OK.

I also lean on people I trust. I’ve built a personal board of directors — people who offer perspective and challenge my thinking.

And I reconnect with why I made this transition: helping people gain clarity and confidence in complex decisions. That impact goes beyond metrics.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome and how did you overcome it?

Starting over as a financial adviser after more than a decade in software development was a major shift. On paper, it looked risky. I had a successful career and a clear path forward. Suddenly, I was a beginner again.

The hardest part wasn’t learning; it was the identity shift. What helped was realizing my skills translated. I wasn’t starting from zero, just applying them differently. Staying connected to the startup community through 1 Million Cups Lincoln also kept me grounded. A few years in, I’m glad I made the change, but it required believing in the process before the validation arrived.

How can the Nebraska community support you?

I believe the best way we can support each other is by engaging with Nebraska’s entrepreneurial community.

I love connecting with people who value collaboration and thoughtful decision-making. Many of the people I meet are navigating significant transitions — such as business growth, succession planning or multigenerational wealth conversations. These situations can be complex, and I enjoy exploring ideas and sharing perspectives that help people think strategically.

You’ll often find me at 1 Million Cups Lincoln on Wednesday mornings, helping facilitate community conversations. If you’re building something in Nebraska, come share your story. The best part of this community is how genuinely invested we are in each other’s success.

I’m also involved with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce as an ambassador, working to connect people across the business community. The more we collaborate and share knowledge, the stronger our ecosystem becomes.

For me, it’s about building reciprocal relationships that strengthen our community.