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Analytics / data · 2025

An architecture review that avoided a ~$400k rebuild

A non-technical founder was about to commit to an architecture that wouldn’t survive their own roadmap. A focused advisory engagement caught it early and set a defensible path.

Fractional CTO / advisor (retainer)Advisory retainerOngoing (monthly)Advisory →
measured outcome
~$400k
rebuild avoided
18 mo
roadmap the design now supports
2
right-fit hires from the rubric
Series A
raised with a clean technical story

// The problem

The team had chosen a single denormalized store and a synchronous design that would collapse once multi-tenant analytics and a planned data product landed. Investors wanted a technical story.

// The approach

Proposed split: transactional core, analytical store, clear seam.
  1. Ran a structured architecture and security review against the actual 18-month roadmap.
  2. Identified the data-model dead end and modeled the cost of changing later vs. now.
  3. Proposed a pragmatic event-sourced core with a separate analytical store (ClickHouse).
  4. Designed the hiring plan and interview rubric for the first two backend hires.
  5. Set up weekly office hours and a maintained ADR log and risk register.
stack
ArchitecturePostgreSQLClickHouseCDC / DebeziumHiring design
Two hours into the review he’d found the thing that would have cost us our Series A. Best money we spent that year.
Lena Brückner, Founder & CEO — Pre-Series-A startup
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Case studies, metrics, prior companies, and testimonials in this template are illustrative and anonymized for demonstration; they do not name or represent any real client or employer and are not a guarantee of future results. Outcomes vary by system, team, and constraints.

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