Hire Me

You found a spreadsheet from a customer that means they aren't using your product?

These aren't signs your product or startup has failed. You found the most valuable research you have - a precise map of where your model of reality has drifted from their reality. Each one is a clue. Someone cared enough about the problem to fix it themselves.

That's spreadsheets, phone screenshots, group chats, the stuff that everyone "just knows". The stuff that we all use to handle the absorption of complexity over time.

Most consultants arrive and tell founders to eliminate the customer spreadsheets. They're actually your most valuable thing.

They actually prove your product is solving a valuable enough problem that they're spending more money to keep it running. But how can you take advantage of this opportunity? You have to build with your customer. Not for them.

That's where I start. I make complex systems work for the people who rely on them. Most safety-critical work happens at big companies with big budgets. I do it where money is tight and teams are small - taking promising tech through regulatory hell and turning bureaucratic customers into revenue engines.

Most founders underestimate the brutal realities of regulated markets:

• 18-month enterprise sales cycles
• regulatory approvals that won't kill your runway
• CE marking without completely derailing your roadmap
• turning procurement committees into advocates rather than obstacles

Most founders think they can 'disrupt' regulatory processes. I'll tell you when that's nonsense and show you what actually works. Regulation, law, and constraint are tools to me, not blockers.

I also work behind the scenes to shape the regulations themselves. And I've done this without a single letter after my name! You might think you need the medical expert for medical devices, or the maritime specialist for shipping. But that doesn't necessarily unlock your big wins. You need the stuff the sector hasn't thought of yet. I work with your domain experts to turn that into something they genuinely respect. I bring a strong commercial instinct to product thinking, and I borrow aggressively from other sectors. Techniques from public health have improved cybersecurity compliance. Lessons from social care have shaped enterprise UX. Medical device risk management becomes railway helpdesk processes.

I don't work from business plans or outdated docs. I'll read your code (pairing with your developers), map out what your UX actually assumes about users, understand how your customers really think about your domain, and follow the money through your accounts. Most product problems live in the gaps between these realities.

Most people think regulated markets are about ticking compliance boxes. I know they're about designing experiences that make risk-averse customers feel confident saying yes. That only works when product, commercial strategy, and compliance are moving together - and that's where I sit.

Recent example: Transformed a major European infrastructure provider from "project no one wanted to touch" to collaborative partner through strategic stakeholder management and regulatory navigation.

Who I can help

I work with ambitious founders building real companies with adult exit strategies - founders and teams who value clarity over comfort and outcomes over appearances. Founders who know the real world is complex, embrace the trade-offs, and push forward anyway.

• You're a deep tech founder facing your first CE submission and need someone who's actually navigated it before.
• You're expanding to Europe and discovering "it's just the US with different plugs" isn't a strategy.
• You have hostile enterprise customers who should be your biggest advocates but feel like adversaries.
• You're navigating compliance challenges and want practical solutions that won't blow up your costs or risk profile.
• You want someone who can balance vision and pragmatism whilst making sure your customers actually buy, adopt, and renew.

How I work

I'm based in Portugal and registered as a freelancer. I can work ad hoc on specific challenges, or longer-term if you need consistent support.

Some options:

• Regulatory strategy audit (3-month engagement with retainer)
  • Figure out your actual pathway through CE marking, or whatever regulatory hell you're facing.
• Product Reality Audit (3-12 month engagement with retainer)
  • I'll map what you actually built (code), what your UX assumes (interface models), and how customers actually think (domain models). Most product problems live in the gaps between these three.
• European market entry (6-month advisory with retainer)
  • Navigate the cultural and commercial differences that make European enterprise different from "US but with different plugs."
• UK Public Sector Market Entry (6-month advisory with retainer)
  • Crack the £200bn+ government market without drowning in procurement frameworks and stakeholder politics.
• Government Sales primer (3 month engagement with retainer)
  • Shorter version of public sector entry - learn how civil servants actually buy and what makes them say yes.
• Hostile customer transformation (case-by-case basis)
  • Turn toxic customer relationships into collaborative partnerships that generate proper revenue.
• Startup Delivery Detox (3-12 month engagement)
  • Fix your shipping chaos, eg from "one big feature per year" to consistent delivery every 6 weeks, or faster.
• Turn Revenue Targets into Delivery Plans (3-6 month engagement with retainer)
  • Bridge the gap between "we need £2M revenue" and actually knowing what to build, sell, and partner with.
• Don't Know Yet (chat with me!)

I also love supporting non-profits, charities, and open source projects in my spare time.

Want to discuss whether we're a good match? Email me at my first name at my second name dot com.