I bring calm and confidence to the chaos of growing a startup. I am as excited and invested as you in making it work and helping you scale rapidly but efficiently.
I am focused on both the human and product elements of scaling an impactful startup. Of designing and developing truly remarkable products. I have helped organizations of all sizes solve complex product and people problems. Leading to the best people decisions and the highest quality products. With me you get better teams, better cultures, better processes, better products — and you have a better time building together. I bring a strategic approach and years of experience designing, developing and building teams.
The goal is always truly elegant solutions.
I speak design, development, and business fluently and interchangeably. I've spent the last 10 years building a truly unique cache of expertise. I worked my way up from an individual contributor to a development leader and team builder at one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world. I am usually the designiest dev on the engineering team and most technical person on the design team. I'm fluent across software design and development while centering real business problems and user jobs to be done. Over time I've fused those skills to help translate across teams and transform businesses for the better. With me you get a very creative technical person who aligns development and design activities to business needs.
I've worked with solo founders all the way through teams of 30, 50, 100, 200, and up to 12,000 employees doing ambitious and creative work across industries from cannabis to media and adtech.
But those unique skills aren't what make working with me special. I make it fun. Growth, scaling, running a hypergrowth startup doesn't have to be about toil. Because it's not just what we build, but how we do it that makes the best product. I truly believe that if you team's not having fun then you aren't doing it right. And not the forced fun of zoom drinks and meetups, because if you're doing it right and the way you're working is fun, you don't need to force it.
I've found that I am at my best, enjoy the work I'm doing the most, and my clients are the happiest when we're solving problems in creative ways and having fun in the process.This can feel scary sometimes but it will also be amazing.
At the end of the day, I help startups get their shit together by putting them on a path to shipping tools that work well, built by teams who love what they're doing. From chaos to camaraderie with a sense of calm and confidence.
I help you win clients and deliver kick-ass software with confidence and camaraderie.
Why clients call me
The journey to shipping remarkable products and scaling a purpose-driven design practice can feel chaotic, especially when you're hitting the same walls:
🚨 Clients ask “but how would we build this?” and credibility drops
🎨 You're limited by what Webflow, Framer, and Figma can support
🎈 Proposals balloon because technical scoping is off
💰 Vendors push complexity because that’s how they get paid
📢 Design and development teams talk past each other
That's where I come in.
How I'm different
Dev shops and hourly consultants profit when projects get bigger and messier. That’s upside down.
I get paid to help you make the smartest technical moves: even when that means recommending the simpler, less expensive option. This makes me an aligned partner, not a scope-bloater.
Together, we'll build the right thing, the right way.
With me, you get clarity, momentum, and a team that has fun shipping cooler products than anyone thought possible.
Partnership models
Technical Liaison
Your embedded technical expert who levels up your design practice from the inside out. I provide internal strategic guidance through workflow automation and responsible AI integration while serving as your go-to technical leader for dreaming up and pitching ambitious work. I step into client pitch sessions as a revenue-generating member of your leadership team, adding instant credibility when they ask "how will we actually build this?" I help you win work beyond Webflow and Framer constraints by bridging the gap between your creative vision and technical reality, positioning your studio to move up-market with confidence.
Fractional CTO
Your technical co-founder (without the equity) who owns delivery from concept to launch. I can embed directly with your team or staff projects with the best developers, designers, data engineers, and AI specialists I've ever worked with, hired, or managed—bringing my A-team to your most ambitious builds. I handle vendor management, quality control, and get hands-on building showpiece UI components that set your work apart. You focus on client relationships and creative direction while I ensure flawless execution through my proven team of specialists. While this often follows our Design Liaison partnership, my Fractional CTO services are available independently for any growing company that needs dedicated technical leadership and delivery expertise.
Move up-market
I’ve studied dozens of the world's best design agencies. The ones with in-house technical leadership don’t just win more pitches: they win bigger pitches and move up-market.
Increase revenue
A $2M studio that invests 5–8% in technical capability typically adds $300K+ in revenue. That’s not theory: it's because custom projects (scoped correctly) are the most profitable work.
Have more fun
Great products are built by teams who enjoy working together. I make it fun—not the forced happy-hours kind, the kind that comes from shipping work you can't wait to show off.
Charlie Stableford
Senior UX Designer
I honestly believe that I would not be where I am in my career or
feel as confident in myself and my career if it wasn't for Martin.
He has this incredible ability to listen to a wide range of
problems from people that are different from him, and problem solve in
a way that keeps who they are at the center of the solution.
Martin leans on his experience without centering himself, and does it effortlessly.
His confidence is infectious. I think this is because of how he communicates,
speaking other people's language to make sure they truly understand.
Luke Andrews
Head of UX at Assembled
Martin is the person you want to work with. He knows design, and knows web and front-end development inside and out. He cares deeply about accessibility, and building great experiences for people.
But no matter what, Martin is just a great person period — a fun and funny collaborator, a confident communicator, and a natural leader who's going to get stuff done.
Ryan Neufeld
UX Design Leader
It's rare to come across a talent that can so effectively combine expertise in development
with the ability to communicate across disciplines. I had the privilege to manage Martin
for almost a year and a half, relying on him as a close confidant in leading the strategic
execution of the product design vision.
Martin's growth from a skilled individual contributor
into a leader who mentored others and drove the maturity of product development processes
was inspiring. His sense of humour and winning personality could cut the tension in any
difficult meeting.
Why me?
Fair question. Simply put, this isn't my first rodeo.
Over the past twelve years, I’ve shipped products used by millions, led teams at Shopify, and partnered with studios to turn creative ambition into technical confidence.
I'm usually known as the designiest dev in the room and the most technical person on the design team.