About Us
Meet the Lab
Brown + Wheaten Strategy Lab is a strategy practice for small and mid-sized businesses, founder-led firms, and community-rooted organizations — the ones driving local economies and shaping the communities they serve. The work is grounded in local market data — economic patterns, demographic signals, market conditions — and informed by years of working alongside leaders in corporate strategy and management consulting.
The practice exists because most strategy resources weren't built for the businesses that need them. Frameworks, market intelligence, and decision-making tools were developed for institutions with research teams and seven-figure consulting budgets. Meanwhile, smaller organizations have been making the same kinds of decisions without that infrastructure — relying on judgment, instinct, and the people closest to the work.
We believe real impact starts close to home, with leaders who understand their people, their markets, and the realities they're operating within. By helping local and regional organizations grow, adapt, and make better decisions, the Lab is investing in something bigger: the long-term strength of communities, local economies, and the people who sustain them.
We take the work seriously. But ourselves? Not so much. Big challenges are tough enough; the process doesn't have to be.
Darryl Wooten is a strategist and transformation leader who helps organizations make sense of complexity and move forward with confidence. For nearly two decades, he has worked across industries and organizational scales — from startups to Fortune 500 companies — supporting leaders as they navigate growth, change, and periods of uncertainty while building stronger, more connected organizations.
His experience spans global operations, change management, and organizational design, with a focus on solutions that are both data-driven and deeply human. He is known for taking time to understand the context leaders are operating in — the systems, pressures, and constraints shaping their decisions — before recommending paths forward. Whether he's reshaping operating models, leading large-scale initiatives, or mentoring emerging leaders, Darryl brings a calm, structured approach that makes progress feel possible.
He holds a graduate degree from Rutgers Business School and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of work, he's a student of history, a sports fan, a decent cook, an aspiring farmer, and aims to befriend almost every dog he meets — but those are stories for another time.
