Built from scratch. More than once.

William Soprano

Hi, I'm Will but my mom named me William Soprano. I'd like to invite you to have a look around to get to know me. You'll find some of my story here, and I'd love to hear yours. Grab some time on my calendar if you feel so inclined 🤙

Book Time With Me About Me

Chapter 1

Rock bottom has a basement

I was 30 years old and I had nothing. Not the romantic kind of nothing where you're free and the world is wide open. The dark kind. The kind where you've burned every bridge, spent every dollar, and the only people still answering your calls are doing it out of pity.

I got sober in Wilmington, North Carolina with no idea what came next. All I had was time — and for the first time in my life, I wasn't trying to destroy it. I spent my whole life tearing it all apart, though I couldn't see it that way. I thought I was doing the 'right things' and life was just mean to me, or as I once proclaimed as an eight year old "m-e-e-n, MEEN".

William Andrew Soprano vintage photo from early days in North Carolina

"The people who pulled me up when I had nothing are the reason I'm here. That debt doesn't expire."

The first few months were miserable - I had no solution, but still lots of ideas. That took me about as far as it could until I finally had to accept the help offered, and put it to action. I can't say that I thought I'd be sober forever, but I was willing to do what sober people did to be well because I was a mess - even without alcohol.

William Soprano in North Carolina William Soprano NC

Chapter 2

The hustle that became a career

All my life I've had a drive to do better, to be better. I didn't really know how, but I had the drive and I ran through a lot of walls. My very first job was at a grocery store in California called Albertsons, and after that I'd go on to work in restaurants all throughout college until I landed a spot on Best Buy's Project Team. I helped them create a video game, creating the world and writing the story and dialogue.

It was there that I realized I could get paid to write without writing books so I dropped out of college and taught myself everything I could about Content Marketing. I continue working nights at bars and restaurants to pay the bills while working for free during the day for nonprofits to build a portfolio. That portfolio, plus the little bit of video game writing is what got me my first job in tech.

William A Soprano in North Carolina
William A Soprano with friends in North Carolina

Chapter 3

Building at scale

The work kept getting bigger and I learned that I had a knack for scaling things that didn't inherently scale. This was all before gen AI. I built 3 open-source developer communities from zero to 15,000+ members each. I launched 9 digital products — from Qlik's developer API platform to eCommerce stores to analytics dashboards. I managed SEO across 40+ websites, led 25+ site migrations, and built growth engines that drove hundreds of millions of page views.

9
Products Managed
40+
Websites Launched
$5MM+
eCommerce Revenue
25+
Site Migrations

I scaled eCommerce revenue past $5 million for brands like Mojotone and Fathom Offshore. I built product-led growth data tracking systems at startups like StartStak, brought product ops into the marketing room, and helped small teams find solutions to big problems. I worked in both startups that break things and enterprises where moving fast meant navigating bureaucracies that move slow.

Every environment taught me something different. Startups taught me to build. Enterprises taught me to scale. Both taught me that I am not the smartest person in the room - not then, and not ever.

See my accomplishments in tech
William A Soprano laughing
William A Soprano with a friend in North Carolina William Andrew Soprano in North Carolina

Chapter 4

Where I am now

The last six years of my life have been so different from everything that came before that people who knew me then don't even recognize me. Today I care about being a better person each day, and all throughout those days. That means being a better professional, sure, but it also means giving to others what was so freely given to me.

I count my accomplishments in the relationships that keep getting deeper, the gifts I couldn't earn, and whether or not I'm helping the people around me. I want to be a part of life rather than apart from it.

Learn more about me
William Andrew Soprano laughing

Chapter 5

Paying it forward

The career, the accomplishments, the life I get to live — none of it exists without the people who showed up when I had nothing. Strangers who became teachers. People in recovery became life support. Bosses who took chances on a dude with too much energy.

That's why giving back to the community isn't a side project for me. It's the foundation underneath it all. I mentor people in tech and work with men in recovery. I volunteer at homeless shelters and treatment centers. I support organizations like the Pro Human Foundation, Black Dog Rescue, and Cause For Paws NC.

What started as giving back to save my life has turned into an honest pursuit that I enjoy. And there's a great deal of fun in it all.

William A Soprano with the Grinch
Read about giving back
William A Soprano and parents

The Best Chapter

Meet Olimar

Every story needs a co-author and he's mine today. I adopted him after my pup Kirby died at 16, having taught me all he could. Oli is the sweetest little dude with more personality that I learn about each day. He's just over a year old, learning to use his hands (paws), and bouncing through life one lesson at a time. He doesn't care about any of the things on this page, he just wants to be part of what's going on.

Olimar the Australian Cattle Dog mix
Meet my dog Olimar
Will Soprano with Olimar dog in North Carolina Will Soprano and Olimar dog

To Be Continued

The story's not over

I'm still building. Still learning. Still figuring out what comes next. The only difference between now and before is that now I know what I'm capable of when I stop getting in my own way, and I know that I am what gets in my way.

There's a gap in this story that I skipped over - about eight years where all I did was work, drink, and take from people around me. I didn't build real relationships, I didn't give back to anyone. Eventually it all caught up with me and I ran out of options. The only kindness offered to me was a suggestion to get help, and when I finally listened it saved my life.

If any of this resonated — if you're rebuilding, if you're in the middle of something hard, if you just want to connect — I'm not hard to find. Come say hi :)

About Me Accomplishments Giving Back