This is where story meets structure.
I’m Vondell Burns—the founder of Thankless Production and NDA Haus. I work with people who are carrying ideas, questions, and callings that require more than inspiration. Through storytelling, strategy, and community, I help turn vision into something you can stand on.
This work is creative.
It’s structured.
And it’s led by faith.
Connect
My Work
I invest in creative infrastructure—spaces, stories, and systems—built with discipline, stewardship, and the capacity to endure. I sit as a strategic partner to founder-focused institutions who diagnoses growth bottlenecks, sharpens founder messaging, and strengthens program ecosystems through clarity-driven strategy and storytelling.
Infrastructure
Thankless Production is a studio building creative ecosystems and original intellectual property designed to endure.
Saturday Scribe
writing · practice · community
A weekly writing practice rooted in discipline and return—where writers show up, listen, and write together.
NDA Haus
living · creating · working
A shared container for intentional living and creative rhythm—designed to support presence, pace, and return.
Thankless Production
strategy · storytelling · studio
A studio offering narrative and growth strategies for founder-focused ecosystems.
Let's Launch
venture · curriculum · accelerator
A venture development platform equipping emerging founders with the structure, tools, and narrative clarity needed to move from idea to execution.
And more…
About me
I founded Thankless Production and NDA Haus to build and steward creative platforms spanning storytelling, community infrastructure, and multi-city writing practice—working at the intersection of creativity, faith, and systems design.
I’ve served as an editorial and strategic authority within organizations including Goldman Sachs, Redfin, and Atento Capital, shaping voice, message architecture, and narrative systems across executive communications, global campaigns, and moments of organizational transition. Alongside institutional work, I partner with founders and early-stage teams to translate vision into structure—helping ideas become durable, legible, and scalable.
My work sits between rigor and responsiveness: inside institutions where governance and alignment matter, and alongside builders who need speed, clarity, and creative problem-solving. I work with leaders who treat narrative as infrastructure—and who understand that clarity is a strategic advantage.
I graduated from Howard University and am based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
My throughline is creativity.
My superpower is faith.
Invitation
These spaces exist to meet you where you are—and support what you’re building.
There are many ways in.
Join a writing practice
Support the long-term stewardship of creative infrastructure. Sustainers invest in the ecosystems, practices, and platforms designed to endure and empower the next generation.
Become a Hausmate
NDA Haus is a container for those ready to build with intention, move with discipline, and grow in community.
Engage the studio*
Collaborate on narrative systems, strategic positioning, and creative infrastructure designed for durability and long-term leverage.
*For founders and institutions.
Choose what resonates.
Need structure for what you're building?
Selected Body of Work
Authorship
In Frame
Creative writing
Original narrative work examining tension, faith, ambition, and becoming—where structure meets story at the sentence level.
Pros on Process
Editorial
Long-form essays exploring creativity, discipline, and the operating mindset behind meaningful work. A written archive of ideas in motion.
Pros on Process
Video Podcast
A visual extension of the editorial practice—conversations and commentary on craft, process, and the systems that sustain creative work.
Institutional & Client Work*
Over 15 years, I’ve operated at the intersection of narrative, strategy, and growth—supporting institutions and venture-backed teams through scaling, repositioning, and ecosystem development.
Collaborate on narrative systems, strategic positioning, and creative infrastructure designed for durability and long-term leverage.
Speaking Engagements & Facilitation
I’m invited to moderate, lead, and participate in conversations across keynotes, panels, workshops, and curated dialogues. Speaking is an extension of my work—an opportunity to translate lived experience, institutional insight, and creative practice into shared learning.
AfroTech
Delivered insights on storytelling, capital, and creative infrastructure within the tech ecosystem at Culture House
Martha's Vineyard
Delivered insights on storytelling, capital, and creative infrastructure within the tech ecosystem at Culture House
New Media Ventures Summit
Contributed to dialogue on narrative power and place-based ecosystem development.
BBYO — Art of the Ask
Led a workshop on persuasive storytelling and strategic fundraising for emerging leaders.
REALITY Trek
Facilitated conversations exploring leadership on the front lines of complexity.
Women Empowering Nations
Spoke on leadership, discipline, and building sustainable creative work.
Need a speaker, moderator, facilitator or panelist?
Certifications
I pursue continuous training in storytelling, venture mechanics, and ecosystem strategy—strengthening the foundation from which I build and, ultimately, invest.
NYU Tisch
Formal training in film, television, and industry systems shaping creative production.
VC University
Foundational training in venture capital, fund mechanics, and investment strategy.
Sundance — Screenwriting Intensive
Craft-focused development in narrative structure, character, and long-form storytelling.
Sundance — Documentary Intensive
Training in nonfiction storytelling, story ethics, and documentary development.