You: are running a tech startup in or near Berlin with between 7 and 75 employees.
Me: Adam Wiggins, Heroku cofounder and experienced tech entrepeneur.
The pitch: I'd like to do a short-term (1 – 6 week) project with your startup, if there's a fit between my skills/interests and your current needs.
My name is Adam Wiggins and I'm best known in the tech world for cofounding Heroku, acquired by Salesforce.com in 2011. I wrote the technical manifesto 12factor.net. You can see me speaking and other examples of my work here, or read my full professional history.
Dispensing with modesty, this is a unique opportunity because you would normally never get the chance to hire someone with my background. I've founded half a dozen startups and hired hundreds of people over the years. I've previously done consulting for a number of different businesses and am currently an advisor to several Silicon Valley startups.
Possible projects areas inclulde:
- Helping your product team deliver faster, more effective iterations to reach product-market fit
- Developing a marketing and PR strategy
- Recruiting and onboarding engineers
- Making choices about technology stack and architecture
- Developing your fundraising pitch
- Hiring and training a sales team
- Hiring and training a customer service team
Assuming there's a match between your company and my interests and skills, I'd like to work for you on a project basis as a freelancer or advisor. We can do a project duration of anywhere from a few days to a few months. We'll start with something short and extend as appropriate.
Pay me however you like (hourly rate, fixed project sum, or pure equity) and whatever amount you feel is fair.
Why do I want to do projects with startups like yours? A few of my motivations:
- My partners and I got the idea for Heroku when we ran a consulting firm many years ago. This put us in touch with lots of real and interesting problems for the companies we did projects for. I'd like to replicate the opportunity to go deep with some new companies and problem spaces.
- I have a hankering to get my hands dirty with startup work again, but my partners and I are not yet ready to start a new company. Consulting for your company is a snack to tide me over until that day comes.
- I'd like to get to know the European startup scene.
If you're interested in working with me and your company fits the criteria described at the top, please email me at a@adamwiggins.com. We can chat over skype or hangout to start with and then take it from there.