What is a Founder in Residence?
As a Founder in Residence (FiR), I work with startups to help them plan, develop, and ship product. I'm a fan of owning new greenfield technical projects where I can work closely with the founders to build zero to one.
Why is working with a founder helpful?
The founder mindset can be really helpful when you're building a startup. Often this means someone who's thinking about integrating product, design, engineering. It can also mean someone asking about how what we're building ties into what customers want, distribution, and growth. And it means someone who's thoughtful about constraint - building and architecting minimally in line with what you're trying to achieve.
Why should I work with you instead of bringing on a technical co-founder or hiring a full-time engineer?
You shouldn't! Long term, you'll want to have a team where product and engineering are in-house. That said, often early stage startups are looking for help building product 0 to 1, setting up an MVP, shipping specific features, or architecting new projects. Another experienced founder can be really helpful when it comes to working on exactly those types of projects.
Why should I work with you rather than hire another contractor or firm?
I've found there's a lot of value in working with an experienced founder who understands what you're trying to do as a fellow founder and early stage startup.
Why should I work with another founder?
Some of the benefits of working with another founder include discussing what you're trying to achieve with a specific feature or product, architecting product with a technical stack that's thoughtful about prioritizing simplicity and efficiency, engineering full-stack products on short timelines and giving feedback on how we could do things better.
Will you be working full time on this?
Nope. I'm spending my time building my own ideas, working on projects with friends, or helping other startups. That's why we’ll set up clear deliverables, break them down into weekly sprint goals, and check in regularly via standups and Slack.
What if I'm not happy with the final deliverable or the process?
No worries - if you're unhappy at all with how things are going, just let me know and I'll provide a complete refund. A big part of the reason I do this is to build good relationships with other founders and want you to feel great about the experience.