In addition to formal training in computer science and software engineering, Chris has over eighteen years of hands-on technical experience, the majority of which has been in leadership roles. Over the years, Chris has developed the ability to cut through the hype, “yak shaving,” and pedantry that often pervade the software industry. He helps teams focus on solving core problems and can identify early when a given approach isn’t working.
Chris thrives in early-stage environments. He has broad experience across a wide range of settings but is particularly well-suited to helping startups and small businesses get established and move toward the scale-up phase. Having already survived the intense pressures of early-stage startups and as a front-line combat veteran, Chris is more than prepared to help you on this journey.
All engagements are performed by stollee and his local team. While Chris values offshore and nearshore software development resources when product requirements are clear, early phases of a software product – especially before product-market fit is found – are different. In these early stages, requirements are often unclear, and inventiveness, creativity, and resilience are crucial. Short development cycles also help refine the product quickly, and working with remote developers through layers of account reps and project managers can slow this down. With the right tools and the effective use of AI, a local team can deliver better value than the alternatives.
If these principles resonate with your needs, stollee offers several engagement types to consider:
This engagement is ideal for non-technical founders who need to quickly create a POC (proof of concept) or MVP (minimum viable product). The goal is explicitly not to build a massively scalable final product but rather to quickly develop the minimum feature set required to validate product-market fit. If you think you know who the product is for, what job it performs for them, and where their urgency lies, we can build something to test those hypotheses quickly. The art of this type of engagement is balancing quality and completeness against overbuilding.
These engagements typically operate on short timelines with a limited set of core requirements, all based on the product’s core promise. Engagements usually last two weeks to two months, and retainers can be established to ensure follow-up work is completed in a timely manner.
This option is ideal for non-technical founders who need assistance in setting technical vision and expectations for a less-experienced implementation team. It’s also perfect for technical founders who are being pulled in multiple directions and need someone to focus on a specific problem area or expand the company’s technology stack.
These engagements are typically structured on a month-by-month or multi-month basis, with a cadence of about four hours per week. Some organizations prefer advisement to stay at the leadership level, empowering leaders to collaborate more effectively with the implementation team. Others prefer direct guidance for their implementation teams. Each organization is different, and engagements are tailored to meet specific needs.
With advancements in AI accelerating, most software products need an AI angle to stay competitive. However, AI expertise is in short supply. This engagement is ideal for teams with the engineering talent to execute their AI strategy but who need guidance in defining specific directions. Alternatively, these engagements can focus on implementing AI POCs or MVPs, which can then be turned over to internal teams for further refinement and iteration.
