Looking for Cofounder(s)
Design/Product + Technical Partners Welcome
Infrastructure expert (20+ years) seeking complementary skills.
Design/Product wizards OR Technical cofounders with traction. Let's build together.
What I Bring as Technical Cofounder
Not just an engineer. A technical partner who can scale your vision.
Build & Scale Infrastructure
- • Cloud architecture (AWS/GCP/Azure)
- • Infrastructure automation & IaC
- • CI/CD pipelines that actually work
- • Scaled apps to millions of users
- • FinOps: managed multi-£M cloud budgets
Security & Compliance
- • SOC2 / ISO27001 implementation
- • Security audits & hardening
- • GDPR / data protection compliance
- • Unblock enterprise sales with compliance
- • Build security from day one
Ship Fast, Scale Smart
- • Full-stack development (Python, Go, JS/TS, PHP)
- • Database design & optimization
- • API architecture & integrations
- • Performance optimization
- • Build custom tooling when needed
💡 I've been the technical person founders wish they had. Now looking for the right startup to build with.
What I'm Looking For
Selective about partnerships. Here's what makes me excited.
✅ Perfect Fit
- ✅ Traction: Paying customers, proven demand, product-market fit signals
- ✅ Revenue: £5k-£100k MRR (or clear path to it)
- ✅ Complementary Skills: Design/Product mastery OR Technical depth OR Sales/Negotiation expertise (Black Swan Method trained a plus)
- ✅ Ambition: Aiming for YC/VC path or bootstrap to £1M-£10M ARR
- ✅ Ethics: Build sustainably, treat customers/employees right, no shady practices
- ✅ B2B/SaaS/Fintech: Industries where infrastructure is competitive advantage
- ✅ Chemistry: Trust, complementary skills, shared vision
❌ Not a Fit
- ❌ Idea stage: No customers, no validation, just concept
- ❌ Zero revenue: Pre-product or pre-launch
- ❌ Equity-only: Can't compensate for living expenses initially
- ❌ Solo project: Looking for someone to "just build it" while you do sales
- ❌ Lifestyle business: Not ambitious enough for the effort required
- ❌ Crypto/Web3: Not my expertise or interest
Three Ideal Scenarios
🎨 Scenario 1: Design/Product Cofounder
You're a designer or product person with incredible UX/product chops. You've validated demand with mockups, early customers, or a no-code MVP. You need someone to build the real technical infrastructure while you own product/design/UX.
⚙️ Scenario 2: Technical Cofounder
You're a technical founder (frontend, backend, ML, etc.) with traction. You need infrastructure/DevOps/security expertise to scale properly. We split technical responsibilities: you own product engineering, I own infrastructure, security, and operations.
💼 Scenario 3: Non-Technical Founder
You're a non-technical founder who's proven the business works (customers, revenue, traction). You've been cobbling together technical solutions but need proper technical leadership to scale from £100k → £1M+ ARR.
🤝 Scenario 4: Sales/Negotiation Expert
You're a master negotiator and deal-closer (Black Swan Method trained ideal). You've landed early customers through sheer sales ability but need technical depth to build what you're selling. You own revenue, I own product.
All four scenarios work. What matters: Traction + Complementary skills + Shared ambition.
Why I'm Exploring This
20 years building for others. Ready to build something of my own with the right partner.
What I've Done
- • Built infrastructure for teams from 5 → 200+ engineers
- • Scaled applications to millions of users
- • Shipped SOC2 compliance for SaaS companies
- • Managed multi-million pound cloud budgets
- • Reduced infrastructure costs by 40%+ repeatedly
- • Built CI/CD systems for 100+ dev teams
What I Want
- • Partnership with a founder who understands customers/market
- • Build something that scales to £1M-£10M+ ARR
- • Own equity in what we build together
- • Work with someone ambitious but realistic
- • Focus on B2B/SaaS where infrastructure is differentiator
- • Join at the right time: post-traction, pre-scale
I'm not desperately searching. I run AlanOps (£5k-£50k technical projects) which funds me while I explore the right opportunity. I'm selective because I know what it takes to build something significant, and I'm only interested in partnerships that have real potential.
How We'd Explore This
No pressure. Just exploration to see if we're a fit.
1. Initial Call
30-60 minutes. You tell me about your business, traction, vision. I assess if I can add real value.
Week 1
2. Deep Dive
I review your current tech stack, roadmap, challenges. We discuss roles, equity, compensation structure.
Week 2-3
3. Trial or Partnership
Either we're both excited and commit, or we agree it's not the right fit. No hard feelings either way.
Week 4
Note: I'm currently exploring several opportunities. I'll be upfront about my situation, and I expect the same from you. If we're both excited, we move fast. If not, no time wasted.
Common Questions
What founders ask before we talk
Are you looking for equity-only or do you need salary?
+Depends on the situation. If you're pre-revenue, probably not a fit (see criteria). If you're doing £20k-£100k MRR, I'd want a blend: meaningful equity + enough salary to cover living expenses while we scale. We'd discuss specifics based on your revenue/runway.
What equity split are you looking for?
+Depends on stage and what I'm joining. If you've built £50k MRR solo, maybe 20-30%. If you're earlier with less traction, potentially 40-50%. It's negotiable based on what each person brings. I'm reasonable but want fair equity for technical cofounder responsibilities.
Are you only interested in UK startups?
+No. I'm UK-based but work remotely with teams globally. Location doesn't matter if the opportunity is right. Time zones (EU/US) are manageable.
Would you join full-time or part-time initially?
+Depends on your revenue/runway and compensation structure. If there's meaningful salary, I can go full-time. If it's mostly equity initially, might start part-time (20-30 hrs/week) while you're scaling revenue, then transition to full-time. Flexible based on the situation.
What if we talk and it's not a fit?
+No hard feelings. I might be able to point you to other technical people, or we could discuss a short-term project basis through AlanOps (paid consultancy) to help you until you find the right technical cofounder. I'm here to be helpful even if we don't partner.
Are you considering starting your own startup?
+Possibly, but I recognize my strength is technical execution, not finding product-market fit. I'd rather partner with a founder who's already proven the market wants what they're building. That said, if I find the right idea with validation, I might pursue it solo or with a cofounder.
Have Traction? Let's Talk.
Book a 30-minute exploration call. We'll discuss your business, technical challenges, and whether a partnership makes sense.
No commitment. Just exploration.
Current status: Exploring opportunities while running AlanOps client work
Response time: Within 24 hours | Discretion guaranteed