Gentry Stanley

About

A non-linear founder, by design.

Gentry's career resists the conventional narrative: five decades, four industries, dozens of ventures, each one compounding into the next. Advertising for America's most recognized brands. A dot-com exit. Twenty years producing for Viacom, MTV, NBC, Paramount, and Disney. A contractor's license, seven books, a fleet of restored boats, and metal sculptures placed in galleries and private collections.

Today he operates as founder and investor, with capital raised and deployed across four distinct categories: technology, media, real estate, and partner ventures. The portfolio is unified by a single thesis, protecting, empowering, and sheltering people, anchored by MyGuardian Inc., an AI-powered civil rights protection platform born on the road in 2020.

Read the full story ↗

"Every venture in the portfolio is a different answer to the same question: how do we take better care of people?" The founding thesis

Ventures

One thesis, five expressions.

Each active venture protects people at a different moment: in a police encounter, in the data behind a decision, on the open water, in a safe harbor, and at home.

MyGuardian Inc.

Founder & CEO · San Francisco

AI-powered civil rights protection. Voice-activated recording, live streaming to trusted contacts, and real-time legal guidance across all 50 states in 40+ languages, with an arrest mode that is free, forever.

myguardianinc.com ↗

Stratum Labs

Founder / Principal

Intelligence, layered. A unified data and applied-AI platform that turns raw, fragmented signal into decisive intelligence: governed, explainable, and fast enough to act on. Built for teams that move on evidence, not instinct.

stratumlabsinc.com ↗

Barbary Coast Marine

Fractional CEO

Real-time maritime compliance monitoring, predictive maintenance, and audit-ready reporting for commercial vessels; a conversational AI layer that lets an operator ask a ship how it's doing.

barbarycoastmarine.com ↗

Haus of Stanley

Founder

A fleet of seven restored vessels serving as sustainable housing, a refuge for people escaping unsafe homes, a mental-health sanctuary, and a maritime education program. Not a real estate play but a social architecture project with a nautical chassis.

On the water

Stanley Brothers LLC

Registered Managing Officer · CA & AZ

Residential and commercial renovation across California and Arizona, backed by a California General Contractor license, the same craft that restores the Haus of Stanley fleet.

Builder

Film & Television

Twenty years behind the lens.

Network Television

Punk'd · NEXT · Date My MomViacom / MTV

Gene Simmons Family JewelsA&E

Ultimate Cake OffTLC

Network ProductionsDiscovery · NBC · Paramount · Disney

Lipstick Bail Bonds · Trail Crew · High Ones · Midzotics UnchartedCreator / Producer

Independent Film

Becoming Eduardo2009 · Festival Winner

Wheels2014 · Festival Winner

Trust · Cold PressedFeatures

The Pandemic Projectw/ Emmy winner Monique Lore

Jacque Fresco: The Man with the Plan2018–2020 · Documentary

Now Airing · Napa Valley TV · Featured Producer

Gentry

The self-titled series, produced for Napa Valley TV and streaming on YouTube. Featured episode: "Econic Earth · Sitar Portal."

Full series on YouTube ↗ napavalleytv.org ↗

AwardBest Experimental Short · Toronto Film Festival

AwardExpresión en Corto · Guanajuato, Mexico

CreditsProducer · Production Designer · Art Director · IMDb

Published Works

Seven books. Five series.

Co-authored primarily with Calvin Alan Lickfelt: experience processed into portable knowledge across leadership, communication, cybersecurity, sales, and entrepreneurship.

Workplace Essentials · Book 1The Conflict Resolution Process

Crucial skills for positive outcomes.

Workplace Essentials · Book 3Communication Need Not Be Complicated

Communication strategies to benefit organizations and employees.

Workplace Essentials · Book 4Taking the Guesswork Out of Cybersecurity

With Bruce Kitchen MBA: methods essential to protecting business and personal information.

Leadership · Book 1Influence Is The Soul Of Leadership

Building confidence to lead others.

Sales & MarketingSeal The Deal

No matter what the size of the sale.

Entrepreneur's SeriesSuccession Planning For The Entrepreneur

Are you ready?

Administrator's SeriesNow Open For Business 24-Hours A Day

Making social media work in the workplace.

Find the books on Amazon ↗

At Sea & In Service

Adventure with a purpose.

Gentry's life off the clock looks a lot like his life on it: on horseback in the Sierras, sailing the California coast, restoring boats with his own hands. The adventure isn't an escape from the work. It is the work.

The Haus of Stanley fleet of seven vessels, personally acquired and restored, houses people escaping dangerous situations, people navigating mental health crises, and people who simply need something different: community, beauty, proximity to nature, and freedom.

The philosophy traces back to Jacque Fresco and The Venus Project, the subject of Gentry's documentary: shelter organized around human need rather than financial capacity. People over possessions, in every decision.

Safe harbor

A direct lifeline for people escaping dangerous home situations: immediate, dignified housing on the water.

Sanctuary

A stable, restorative environment for people navigating mental health crises.

Maritime education

Active programming in seamanship, ocean literacy, and sustainable living at sea.

Restoration

Vessels identified, acquired, and rebuilt: General Contractor craft, applied to the water.

The world is ruled
by those who show up.