A product rebuild and building the full-time technical team.
I was hired three weeks before launch to help get the app over the finish line. The first job turned out to be deciding whether the existing product was ready to launch at all.
The brief
Estate Kit helps Canadians organize everything their family would need to step in for them: accounts, legal documents, passwords and wishes. The people they name get a step-by-step guide, so nobody is left guessing on the hardest days. All of that is private, and each person chooses who can see which piece, and when. Estate Kit promises institutional-grade security because that privacy is the product.
The original brief was a short contract to get the product over the finish line and into users’ hands. One week in, the engagement shifted into a top-to-bottom diagnostic of the product and the tech underpinning it.
The founder needed a clear account of the front end and the microservice APIs behind it, along with an honest recommendation about what to do next.
What I did
Costed both options first
Within two weeks, I had completed two technical reviews and prepared two costed plans: salvage what existed, or rebuild on a new technical foundation. The founder chose to rebuild on a vetted industry-best tech stack.
Rebuilt the product and helped hire the team
I led design and engineering on the platform foundation. Because of what the product holds, that meant building security into the foundation and making sharing simple to set up. The work included a significant UX overhaul, in collaboration with external partners including Gev.
Alongside the build, I helped move the technology function from a group of contractors to three full-time technical staff. That included sourcing and helping to hire the permanent CTO.
Planned the handover
Once the permanent CTO took the lead, I stayed engaged as a technical advisor through launch. The goal was a team that could own the product without me.
Result
2 weeks
Two technical reviews and two costed plans
The founder could compare salvaging the existing product with rebuilding it.
The product launched with a permanent team in place.
The rebuilt product launched seven months after the rebuild decision, with a new full-time team of three in place. I wrapped up in July 2026.
What they said
“Martin loves what he does, and it shows. He is passionate about building great products and takes a best-practice approach to every aspect of the business: design, product development and architectural decisions. He speaks business, design and engineering seamlessly, which made it easy for me, as a non-developer, to make informed choices.
He went all in on Estate Kit and was incredibly flexible and dynamic, taking on a myriad of projects both inside and outside his core areas of focus. His default is always ‘yes, how can I help and support?’
He also generously extended his network, making introductions and bringing in others to collaborate as contractors, vendors and sounding boards.”
Amy BaryshnikFounder & President, Estate KitScope
Strategy
- Front-end and API reviews
- Costed salvage and rebuild plans
- Technology team design and hiring
Delivery
- Platform foundation
- Design and engineering leadership
- UX work, in part with Gev
- Technical advice through launch
Milestones
Front-end and API reviews delivered, with costed salvage and rebuild plans.
Platform foundation rebuilt, with a significant UX overhaul.
Technology function moved from contractors to three full-time staff, including a permanent CTO.
Rebuilt product launched with the permanent team in place.