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Tell me what you need to change, what your team has already tried and when you’d like to start.
Discuss a similar projectI work across strategy, design, engineering, marketing, sales and operations. Over more than a decade, that has included work for Groupon,
Vouchercloud, AWIN and
The Motley Fool, product engineering for
Framer,
Contra
and
STRV
, and founding and selling three software businesses of my own.
I’m good at taking a complicated business problem, making the work clear and seeing it through. That can mean deciding what to build, designing the experience, writing the software, finding customers or improving how the business runs. I work with colleagues across those disciplines and take responsibility for the work myself.
In my own businesses, product decisions, customer acquisition, sales, revenue and day-to-day operations have all been my responsibility. I bring that same connected view to client work, from shaping the offer to building the product and measuring whether it works for the business.
…
In November 2024, Dinners With Friends was a revived idea and a napkin sketch. By the start of September 2026, it had welcomed more than 500 guests across 50 dinners. Dates were routinely selling out six to eight weeks ahead, and nearly all of the remaining 2026 calendar was booked.
Pamela Silkstone first ran the concept twenty years earlier: put people who have never met around one table, give them a host, and make the first conversation easier. I took the relaunch from idea to first version, first paying customers and a business with more demand than seats. Along the way I built the brand, website, booking system, internal tools, mobile app and the search programme that now brings new people in.
The search programme delivered 5,530 Google clicks in June–August 2026, up 66.1% on the previous three months, alongside 381,345 search impressions. Building and maintaining a library of local guides gave the business a way to be discovered by people looking for food, activities and places to meet across Exeter and Devon.
…

Hosted dinners that help people make friends
CTO · Built the brand, booking platform, apps and search programme
Read the full case studyDinners With Friends brings people together to make friends over hosted meals at local venues across South West England. As CTO for the relaunch, the role covered the website, mobile apps, bookings, payments and host tools, alongside the brand, customer acquisition and analytics needed to run the business.
…

Freelance opportunity discovery for Contra
Product engineering · Built the extension and discovery pipeline
View Indy.ai projectIndy.ai is a Chrome extension built for
Contra
that helps freelancers discover work by finding opportunities in their LinkedIn and X feeds. The engineering engagement through WithSeismic covered the extension and discovery pipeline, connecting browser-based collection with AI analysis to turn social posts into structured job opportunities for
Contra
's marketplace.
's Chrome extension and its browser-based opportunity discovery pipeline.
Verified on Contra•5.0Doug was incredible to work with. He operated quickly & efficiently, and even proposed ways to improve the feature to exceed our expectations. 10/10!
“Doug was incredible to work with. He operated quickly & efficiently … 10/10!”
Allison NultyHead of Product @ ContraContra ↗
hogsend.comLifecycle messaging for software teams. Every customer journey is written as code, reviewed in a pull request and tested before it sends.
Dinners With FriendsA social events platform for people who want more from their social life: hosted dinners where strangers become friends. More than 500 guests so far.
Where you are now. Fractional CTO, growth and product strategy for teams that want someone to own the outcome rather than advise on it. 100+ engagements since 2016.