CTO & technical lead · Pet-tech marketplace
Cat in a Flat
Cat in a Flat is an online marketplace that matches cat owners with approved, cat-loving sitters for in-home visits and overnight stays - a stress-free alternative to a cattery. I worked with the two founders for a decade, most of it as their only developer, holding the CTO title and taking full responsibility for the platform's technical growth across the whole stack.
That covered a mobile-first rebuild, Android and iOS apps, payments integration, translation as the business expanded into new markets, and the scaling and performance improvements needed to keep things running as the community grew. It also included building the DPR and DAC7 reporting tools to convert sitters' earnings into the format tax authorities need - something most gig-economy platforms will have to deal with eventually, and can save real money doing themselves with the right help. That's the advice I give on the DPR & DAC7 Expertise page.
That decade of work built a profitable company that was ready for major investment or an acquisition. The platform is now part of Rover, the world's largest pet-sitting marketplace - the most significant exit on my track record so far.
Freelance rebuild · Delib
Citizen Space Aggregator
Citizen Space is Delib's consultation platform, used by more than a hundred public bodies worldwide - from local councils to national ministries - to run public consultations. The Aggregator is a free companion tool that pulls every publicly visible consultation from across that client base into one searchable directory.
During the eight years I spent at Delib I worked extensively on Citizen Space and their other tools, including building the original Aggregator. As a tight-knit team, our responsibilities covered all aspects of building, maintaining and improving products used in the public sector, including WCAG compliance and strict information security standards.
In 2024 they asked me back to rebuild the Aggregator on a modern technology stack, and take on responsibility for its future. The new Aggregator runs a React frontend, built and deployed through AWS Amplify's CI/CD pipeline, with Amazon API Gateway and Lambda powering both public search and admin endpoints. It was originally built to talk to a hosted Postgres-as-a-service provider that sadly shut down, prompting a switch to Amazon RDS instead.
Fractional CTO · Intergenerational companionship platform
Aibo
Aibo matches older adults with vetted young adults - 'Buddies' - for weekly companionship and practical help, live in Brighton and Chichester with coverage from the BBC and others. The founder had built the whole platform using Lovable. I was brought in to assess whether it was ready for production, and to help prioritise what came next on the roadmap.
Working through what Lovable had generated, a few places were discovered and fixed where the platform wouldn't hold up under real user volumes, along with some crucial gotchas. It's the kind of review AI-generated platforms increasingly need before they're trusted with real users.
I've stayed on since as fractional CTO: automating their invoicing with a Stripe integration, holding roadmapping sessions, and giving ongoing strategic advice as the business grows.
