Marcos Polanco

Work With Me

early stage founders hire me when technical uncertainty slows execution: roadmap thrash, architecture risk, or misalignment between business priorities and engineering reality.

What I bring

I audit your technical reality with honesty: what's being built, why, and whether it maps to where you're going. I translate between the business and the engineering team. I help you decide what to build, what to buy, what to delay, and what to kill.

What you walk away with

  • A clear technical direction aligned with business goals
  • A vetted architecture you can scale with confidence
  • A prioritized roadmap your team actually agrees on
  • A hiring plan grounded in real system needs

Who I work with

Seed to Series B companies with technical teams between two and twenty. Founders who are non-technical or technical founders too close to the work.

AI and agentic systems: Teams building AI architecture, agentic systems, or LLM-integrated products. I help you navigate AI tooling decisions faster than engineering culture can absorb.

What I don't do

I don't write code for your product. I don't run sprints. I don't manage your backlog. I'm not staff augmentation. If that's what you need, I'll tell you and point you somewhere better.

I work with a select number of companies per quarter to ensure high-touch engagement.

Engagement Models

Ongoing, 2-3 days per month

Embedded advisory

Direct access and real-time involvement in decisions as they arise. You leave with:

  • Continuous technical direction aligned with business goals
  • Quarterly architecture reviews and risk assessment
  • Hiring plan grounded in real system needs
  • Prioritized roadmap your team actually agrees on
3–4 weeks, high-touch engagement

Architecture sprint

Resolve a critical technical question or inflection point. You leave with:

  • Architecture decision document (ADR)
  • System diagram and tradeoff analysis
  • Clear recommendation and execution path
  • Implementation roadmap with milestones
One-time, 1–2 weeks

Board-level technical review

Diligence, fundraising preparation, or post-incident assessment. You leave with:

  • Technical due diligence memo for investors/board
  • Risk assessment and mitigation plan
  • Architecture audit and recommendations
  • Independent validation of technical claims
Book a 45-min architecture session