Luis Saffie
Technology & Operating Executive
I embed into growth-stage companies to fix engineering execution. Tech debt, slow shipping, misaligned teams — I diagnose the real problem and personally fix it.
Same problems everywhere: tech debt crushing velocity, teams that can't ship, founders and engineers speaking different languages. I've fixed this dozens of times — at Amazon, Wealthsimple, HomeStars, and companies I've built and sold.
Why Founders Choose Me
I Deliver, Not Just Diagnose
I don't send a deck and disappear. I work alongside your team, write code, fix architecture, and build the systems that scale.
Battle-Tested at Scale
Scaled HomeStars to acquisition. Built Amazon warehouse optimization globally. Led engineering at Wealthsimple. I've seen every failure mode.
Operator Who Ships
I don't sit in a corner office. I embed with your team, lead from the code, and align product, engineering, and business outcomes. One operator, end-to-end execution.
Sound Familiar?
These are the patterns I see in every scaling organization.
Engineering vs. Everyone Else
Engineering says 6 months. Sales promised 2 weeks. Product doesn't know what's possible. Nobody's aligned.
Everything Takes Too Long
Simple features take months. Your competitors ship faster with smaller teams. Tech debt is crushing velocity.
No Clear Roadmap
50 feature requests, zero prioritization. Everything's urgent. No data on what drives business outcomes.
Constant Production Fires
Weekend outages. Emergency patches. Customer escalations. No time to fix root causes.
Talent Exodus
Good engineers won't join. Your best people are burned out and leaving. Can't compete for senior talent.
Manual, Fragile Deployments
Still deploying manually. No CI/CD. Testing is an afterthought. Every release is a nail-biter.
AI Is Passing You By
Your competitors are shipping 10x faster with AI-assisted workflows. Your team is still "exploring." The gap widens every month.
One Month. Complete Clarity.
No long-term commitments. See results before you decide what's next.
How I Work
I embed with your team. Interview key people, sit in critical meetings, review architecture and processes. I diagnose what's actually broken.
Weekly check-ins. No surprises. You know exactly what I'm finding and where we're headed.
End of month: comprehensive assessment with 3-5 high-impact fixes, prioritized by business value.
What You Receive
- 3-5 prioritized improvements with business impact quantified
- Concrete implementation roadmap with timelines
- Architecture review with technical recommendations
- Team structure assessment and hiring roadmap
- Process and tooling gaps with modern alternatives
Then You Decide
I can stay to implement. Or hand it off to your team with a clear execution plan. Your call.
What Changes
These aren't aspirational. These are typical outcomes after 6 months.
Faster Delivery
Features ship in weeks instead of months. Predictable velocity your business can plan around.
Less Firefighting
Systems that don't break at 3am. Engineering time redirected to building, not fixing.
Roadmap Clarity
Clear priorities tied to business outcomes. No surprises. Predictable costs.
Revenue Impact
Ship features customers pay for. Technology drives growth, not costs.
Retention Rate
Engineers stop quitting when systems work and they see their impact.
Engineering ROI
Every engineering dollar becomes a measurable contributor to business growth.
Mini Case Study
Biiibo: From daily outages to predictable delivery
Worked alongside the team, stabilized production, introduced delivery rituals, and rebuilt the roadmap around revenue impact. Outages dropped, delivery timelines tightened, and leadership regained trust in engineering.
Track Record
Organizations I've scaled, from hypergrowth to acquisition
Owned workforce optimization tools deployed across all global warehouses. Reduced operational costs while improving productivity at scale.
Led infrastructure modernization with infrastructure-as-code and security practices that scaled through hypergrowth.
Eliminated daily production outages, built real-time revenue tracking, reduced delivery delays by 50%. Turned operational chaos into predictable execution.
As CTO, repositioned product strategy, rebuilt technology platform, and aligned organization—leading directly to acquisition.
Let's Talk
Tell me about your technical challenges. I'll tell you if I can help.
Or reach me directly:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Technology & Operating Executive do?
I embed directly into your company to lead technology, product, and business execution. Unlike consultants who advise from the outside, I work alongside your team — writing code, fixing architecture, and building the systems that scale. You get an executive operator, not a slide deck.
How is this different from hiring a consultant or advisor?
Consultants diagnose and leave. I diagnose and fix. I sit with your team, attend your standups, review your PRs, and personally implement the changes. The difference is I'm accountable for outcomes, not deliverables.
What's the typical engagement length?
We start with a 30-day assessment where I embed with your team to diagnose what's actually broken. From there, the typical engagement is a 3-month sprint: month one for assessment, month two for hands-on implementation, month three for measurement and knowledge transfer. You decide what happens next.
What size companies do you work with?
I work with Series A and growth-stage companies, typically $1M–$15M in revenue with 10–200 employees. If your team is busy but not shipping, tech debt is crushing velocity, or engineering and the business aren't aligned — that's exactly when I step in.
How much does it cost?
Engagements are $10,000 CAD/month, typically two days per week over a 3-month sprint. You know the cost, timeline, and expected outcomes before we start.