If investors keep passing,
there's a reason.
Most founders think it's timing or traction.
It's usually the architecture, the team structure, or the pitch.
5 exits. 20 years at scale. $1.2B acquisition.
Let me show you what VCs see that you don't.
Need a trusted CTO-level advisor?
15 minutes. Walk away with a clear action plan and an honest read on what's actually blocking your growth.
Book a strategy call→Founding a startup?
6 founders. 6 weeks. Validate your idea, ship an MVP, and get funding-ready. Most participants apply to YC or a16z within 90 days.
$ apply --now→SOUND FAMILIAR?
The four patterns that keep showing up — regardless of stack, stage, or funding round.
Technical Debt Spiral
You chose fast-to-market over scalable. Now you're rewriting core systems during fundraising.
AI Strategy Paralysis
Everyone says 'add AI.' No one explains which problems AI actually solves at your scale.
Leadership Transition
You're still writing code. Your team needs strategy. Investors want a leader.
Hiring Under Pressure
Series A closes. You need 10 engineers. You've never hired at scale before.
RECEIPTS, NOT CLAIMS
Real outcomes. Real companies. Real numbers.
10s → 80ms
Re-architected push notification delivery for 1B+ events/sec. Cut p95 latency from 10 seconds to 80ms. Shipped before acquisition closed.
+200% in 8 weeks
COVID surge hit. Global infrastructure had to scale 200% overnight with zero downtime. Done in 8 weeks as SRE lead.
CTO & Co-Founder. Zero to backed.
Built from scratch, shipped to customers, raised institutional backing. Most founders learn one side of the table. Glo has lived both.
Yammer. Nextdoor. Do.com. Gixo. Must Win.
Microsoft. IPO. Amazon. OpenFit. Lyric. Five different outcomes, two decades. Acquisition, public market, strategic — all from the inside.
ADVISORY WINS
Who she helped and what changed.
DiagnoVet
Building a vet AI diagnostic platform, exploring B2C. Needed business model clarity and a YC application path. Advised on premium subscription structure, Latin America as test market, and UC Davis vet student pipeline.
Outcome: Clear YC path. MVP development timeline delivered.
Nevara AI
Had $200k ARR but VCs wanted sharper differentiation. Repositioned from "AI assistant that works" to "AI copilot for salespeople." Restructured the competitive story around coaching vs monitoring.
Outcome: Deck rebuilt. Warm VC intros secured post-memo refinement.
Polis
Strong team, $100K ACV verbal LOIs. Needed pitch sharpening for a16z Speedrun — 20,000 applicants, 60 selected. Applied 3-2-1 framework across multiple sessions with all three founders.
Outcome: Selected for a16z Speedrun video interview round.
20 YEARS OF SCAR TISSUE.
ALL OF IT DOCUMENTED.
Talks, essays, frameworks, and guides — open to anyone who wants to learn from someone who's been there.
QConSF Talk + Frameworks
Handouts from QCon SF 2024. 30-60-90 plans, co-founder frameworks, customer validation templates, due diligence checklists.
Talks on SRE, Microservices & AI
Datadog Dash, QConSF, RailsConf, Conf42. Real war stories from production systems at billion-event scale.
Weekly Engineering & Leadership
AI infrastructure, distributed systems, and what actually matters at Seed→Series A. No fluff, no vibes.
HOW ADVISORY WORKS
Discovery (15–30 min)
Discovery call. We discuss your current state, pain points, and whether advisory makes sense. Straight talk, no pitch.
Engagement Design (Week 1)
If we're a fit: co-design scope, outcomes, timeline, budget.
Typical: 3–6 months, $15k–30k/month
Execution (Ongoing)
Weekly check-ins. Async Slack. Frameworks delivered. Code reviews as needed. Decisions that compound for 18–24 months.