The Situation
Why I Was Brought In
The team needed someone who could operate across product, domain, and design—someone who understood music licensing from the inside and could translate that into something a team could build.
I came in to define the product, shape its direction, and establish the system it would sit on. That included product architecture, interaction model, and ultimately how the company would present itself to the industry.
This went beyond improving an interface. It was about creating the structure the product—and the business—would depend on. That meant defining not just how the product would work, but how it would present itself. It required someone who could operate across product definition, domain expertise, and creative direction at the same time.
Establishing the Foundation
Early efforts were focused on producing mockups to support fundraising. At that point, there wasn’t an engineer on the team yet, which made sequencing critical.
Without a defined system—flows, structure, relationships—development would have started from fragments. That path typically leads to extended rework just to reach a usable baseline.
I built the blueprint first.
I mapped the full system, defined how the pieces connect, and created a structure that engineering could step into once hired. When the lead developer came on, he wasn’t interpreting disconnected ideas. He was building against a system that already held together.
That decision reduced risk and gave the product a clear starting point.