Product & Technical Decisions
Product scope, MVP definition, feasibility, architecture decisions, build-vs-buy, AI strategy. The decisions that shape what gets built — made with evidence, not vocabulary.
How I help
Technical Advisory for Non‑Technical Founders
Independent senior technical judgment when your startup doesn’t yet have that capability in-house. You keep the final call — I make sure it’s an informed one.
The split rule
Judgment, separated from the build.
“I don’t make more money because your build becomes bigger.”
The party diagnosing a technical problem should not have a financial incentive to inflate the subsequent build. I advise; I don’t build your product and I don’t sell implementation. That includes telling you when something should not be built yet.
Four areas
Where the judgment applies.
Builder & Vendor Decisions
Agency evaluation, proposal review, technical interviews, quote comparison, vendor selection, acceptance criteria. Deciding who builds — and under what agreement.
Build Oversight
Architecture review, milestone review, technical risk review, AI quality review, ownership and handover review, technical escalation. Knowing the build is actually going well.
Technical Ownership
Founder-owned cloud, code and accounts, architecture documentation, AI observability, engineering readiness, first hires, transition to an internal team. Holding the keys from day one.
Ways of working
Start with a conversation, not a contract.
Most engagements start small — one decision — and grow only if the situation calls for it.
01
Technical Decision Session
One important decision, worked through together: the evidence you have, the options on the table, what I'd do and why, and what would change the answer.
02
Technical Review
A prototype, proposal, architecture or vendor — reviewed independently, with a written view of the risks, the questions to ask, and whether the price of the commitment matches the evidence behind it.
03
Founder-side Advisory
Ongoing technical guidance through a product build: milestone reviews, vendor conversations, and a senior engineer on your side of the table for the decisions as they come.
Sound familiar?
The decisions founders bring.
“I have three development quotes. I can't tell which is realistic.”
Vendor & proposal review
“The agency says we need microservices and Kubernetes.”
Architecture sanity check
“I built a prototype using AI. Can customers actually use it?”
Prototype → product assessment
“The development team says everything is on track. How do I know?”
Build oversight
Bring the decision you’re uncertain about.
A proposal, a prototype, an architecture, a quote — send what you have. We’ll start from your actual situation, not a menu.