We've Seen This Movie
After 30+ due diligences, 4 integrations, and systems serving 100M+ users — we recognize patterns others miss.
Philosophy
Technology Is Economics
Every architecture decision is an investment decision. Every line of code has a cost and a return. We apply economic thinking to technical problems.
Design and Direct, Don't Implement
We architect systems and make decisions. Your team builds — or we bring trusted specialists who do. We don't compete with your developers. We make them effective.
Senior Expertise, Direct Access
You work with the principal. The person who's done the work is the person on your call.
Answers, Not Options
Go / No-Go. Build / Buy. Fix / Replace. We give you a decision you can act on, not a report full of caveats.
Patterns We've Learned
Architecture Patterns
“Lift-and-shift costs 40% more than promised. Re-architecture costs 60% more.”
Budget for reality.
“The codebase everyone's afraid to touch is always the one generating the most revenue.”
That's not a coincidence.
“10x engineers don't exist. 10x blockers do.”
Find and remove them.
“Most "platform" initiatives fail because they're solutions looking for problems.”
Start with the use case.
AI Patterns
“80% of AI projects fail because of data problems, not model problems.”
Fix the data first.
“The RAG system that works in demo breaks in production.”
Plan for edge cases.
“Build the workflow first, add AI second. Not the reverse.”
AI augments process, it doesn't create it.
Due Diligence Patterns
“Acqui-hires collapse when the top contributor has <40% attribution.”
If the best engineer joined after launch, you're buying the wrong team.
“No API = 18-month integration. Every time.”
If you can't get data out programmatically, plan to rebuild.
“GPL in the core means deal restructure or walk.”
License contamination isn't fixable post-close.
Integration Patterns
“Day 1 breaks on three things: SSO, data access, CI/CD.”
Plan for all three.
“Quick wins must be visible to the board or you lose air cover for the hard stuff.”
Politics kills integrations more than technology.
“Integration stalls when you try to merge before you stabilize.”
Secure the base, then combine.