I understand that there can be few thoughts before hiring a consultant who is not under payroll. I have tried addressing some I come across below, will keep adding more as I see them.
As a startup, your resources are limited. You might have a few full-time employees who are skilled in certain areas, but as your startup grows and evolves, you will need to solve various technology challenges, which may be outside of your team’s core expertise.
Over the years, I’ve written production software using diverse solution domains. This diverse experience allows me to understand and leverage the nuances of the technologies to build optimal solutions suited to product’s needs. On the other hand, my work across problem domains such as FinTech, e-commerce, AI, Blockchain, Developer Tooling, Construction and Mining Industry, and Industrial Machinery Monitoring has exposed me to a myriad of business problems.
So, when you hire a consultant, you’re not just hiring a specialist in one field. You’re gaining access to a professional who has seen different business landscapes, dealt with varied challenges, and understands how to adapt solutions to best fit your unique needs.
This breadth of expertise, coupled with the ability to transfer and apply knowledge across contexts, is what sets me apart from a regular full-time employee. You’re not hiring one role, you’re essentially gaining a whole technology and problem-solving arsenal.
No, as a consultant I have intrinsic motivation to have skin in the game, my responsibility is not driven by external lock-ins like bonus, gratuity or equity. I as a consultant might not be a part of your organization in the traditional sense. But I am deeply invested in the success of every project I undertake. My reputation depends on it. Each successful project is a testament to my capabilities.
When one of my client lost their major cash cow project, I helped them in not losing further by managing their other projects on pro-bono basis, while giving them peace of mind to recover from the situation. This was not part of the contract, in fact this was not about fulfilling a contract; it was about commitment, responsibility, and being invested in my client’s success – which, in essence, is what having “skin in the game” truly means.
Before embarking on my journey as a consultant, I worked with various startups, each with its unique culture, school of thought, and team dynamics. This exposure instilled in me an ability to quickly understand and adapt to new work environments.
My consulting experience ranges from working with Fortune 500 (Japanese) corporates to small, agile startups. In fact, there were quarters when I worked with both types of companies simultaneously. Navigating these vastly different work cultures honed my adaptability skills further, allowing me to blend seamlessly into different team dynamics.
This experience shows that I can swiftly integrate into your team, respect your culture, align myself with it, and start delivering results without causing disruptions to your existing team harmony.