Calia

I was brought in to transform an under-resourced SaaS prototype into a market-ready product and a revenue-generating business.

- Revamped engineering operations by implementing Agile methodologies, streamlined documentation, and GitHub Actions with CI/CD. This reduced release lead time from multi-week manual builds to on-demand deployments in under three minutes.
- Delivered the first stable production release within 14 days of joining, overcoming a six-month development bottleneck and restoring stakeholder confidence.
- Built and mentored an 8-person cross-functional team (Front-End, Back-End, QA, UX). I implemented individualized growth plans, which resulted in 0% voluntary attrition and a 25% increase in productivity.
- Conducted numerous customer interviews to prioritize pain points, creating a stabilization roadmap that significantly improved product satisfaction.
- Collaborated with the sales team to develop a compelling value narrative that helped close the company’s first three paying customers, generating $8,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
- Consolidated cloud infrastructure on AWS EKS, cutting monthly spending by 30% while achieving 99.9% uptime.
- Fostered a remote-first culture through weekly demos, virtual social events, and an annual on-site meeting to maintain team morale.

Chief Technology Officer

Hippo.Build

Co-founded a construction technology platform backed by Y Combinator, where I led the technical architecture and product strategy. This platform revolutionized how small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) manage their operations through innovative SaaS solutions that integrate project management, inventory optimization, and marketplace capabilities.

- Secured $1 million in seed funding from Y Combinator and prominent angel investors
- Built and led a cross-functional team of twelve developers, designers, and contractors, establishing a remote-first culture and implementing agile practices that accelerated product delivery threefold.
- Led full-stack development from conception to deployment, personally coding the first MVP version, designing databases, building services, and implementing comprehensive testing suites.
- Designed a monolithic RESTful architecture using PHP/Laravel and PostgreSQL, which supports over 1,000 task notifications with 100 active users with 99% uptime.
- Integrated BIM for small and medium-sized construction firms, providing enterprise-level tools that were previously only available to large companies.
- Conducted over 30 user interviews with construction professionals to identify key pain points and shape the product roadmap.
- Transformed user insights into actionable features by aligning customer needs with technical implementation. Collaborated closely with the design team to create an intuitive UI/UX.  
- Reduced construction material costs for customers by approximately 15% through an innovative marketplace integration that includes real-time inventory tracking.  
- Minimized project delays by 75% by implementing proactive inventory management and automated procurement workflows.

I am passionate about leveraging technology to solve real-world challenges in traditional industries. I am open to connecting with investors, construction innovators, and engineers who are interested in transforming the $12 trillion construction industry.

CTO and Co-Founder

Ballast Lane Applications, LLC

Participate in transforming the backend architecture at a software consultancy, modernizing a legacy PHP/Laravel monolith into a distributed GO microservices architecture for an enterprise SaaS platform serving over 10,000+ users.

Key Achievements:
- Reduced system response time by 40% and enhanced platform stability by designing and implementing five high-performance GO microservices, allowing seamless scaling for a growing user base.
- Stabilized legacy PHP/Laravel system experiencing some daily critical errors, achieving 99.9% uptime through systematic debugging and performance optimization
- Identified and resolved 20+ production-critical bugs missed during QA, implementing automated testing that reduced post-deployment issues by 60%
- Collaborated effectively across distributed teams spanning 4 time zones (USA, Poland, and Ukraine).

I am passionate about building scalable systems that drive business growth. I am open to discussing challenges in backend architecture and innovative solutions.

Back End Developer

Zoe Financial

I drove the platform's evolution and enriched our development cycle with automation. I elevated our product's efficiency and performance by fostering tight-knit engagement among our engineering team.

Principal Software Engineer

I meticulously engineered a variety of MVPs, ultimately crafting the pivotal solution for client-advisor connectivity. On this foundation, ensuring the platform's stability, I laid a strong groundwork for its scalability and future growth.

Full-stack Developer

Pidefarma

As the pioneering developer at Pidefarma, I was instrumental in strengthening and stabilizing the existing legacy system. My leadership significantly improved critical infrastructure efficiency by spearheading a successful migration to an advanced architecture that seamlessly aligned with the organization's evolving needs.

I advanced process automation, systems integration, and database design. Created user-friendly interfaces, developed conversion channels, and focused on business optimization and goal accomplishment: Red Cross, Reginal Aqueduct, and Huila's Governance, among other

Independent Contractor

ORF S.A.

Software developer and effective team leader. We hit major milestones, including completing intricate modules like Vendor Supplies Negotiation, Payroll System, and an innovative Geolocation Sales Module backed by Personal Digital Assistants.

Lead Software Engineer

CTO and Co-Founder HippoBuild | Y Combinator Alumni

A software engineer and an entrepreneurial spirit driven by problem-solving, I have dedicated my professional journey to mastering backend development and automation. Fueled by an unwavering passion for technology and its transformative potential

I assisted my co-founder in making inaccurate statements to Y Combinator regarding the duration of our acquaintance and other sensitive matters.


Sixteen months became "6-7 years." LinkedIn could outreach became "family friends."

Last week, I discovered him telling the same damn thing on video. Alone. Confidently. Like it was true.

Watching the interview broke something in me.

Not anger. Recognition.

See, when you "fake it" together, you're not building trust. You're documenting that truth is negotiable.

That's when I understood how founders get erased:

1. First, you both agree to the "white lie".
  "Let's say we've known each other longer" (YC will like that)

2. Then, they believe it.
 "We've been partners for years" (to every investor)

3. Finally, they improve the lie.
  "I've always been the visionary" (you disappear)

I participated in Step 1. By the time I recognized Step 3, I had already lost nearly a year’s salary, and my equity is likely being diluted.

But here's what haunts me: I gave him permission with that first "yes" to YC's tale.

"Fake it til you make it" sounds like startup wisdom.

It's actually a tutorial on how to fake your co-founder out of existence.

The question that keeps me up: If I'd insisted on truth from day one, would I still have a company?

What "white lie" did you tell that became a harmful truth?

WIRED Michael Seibel Garry Tan 99 Startups Second Century Ventures Semilla.VC Podcast

Source in comments

J. Alberto  Gonzalez Rouille

Software Engineer, Maker | Y Combinator Alumni

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