How I work with you
Advisory retainer engagements for startups and scale-ups that need senior product and data expertise without the overhead of a full-time hire.
The advisory retainer model
Most growing businesses don’t need a full-time Chief Product Officer or Head of Data. They need someone with that level of experience available consistently — to think alongside them, challenge assumptions, and help turn strategy into something that actually ships.
That is what a retainer engagement provides. You get dedicated access to senior product and data expertise, structured around your pace and priorities, without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
What it includes
- Regular working sessions — weekly or fortnightly depending on scope
- Async availability for reviews, decisions, and quick input between sessions
- Hands-on involvement: I review, write, design, and build alongside you — not just advise
- A rolling roadmap of priorities we agree and adjust together
- Access across product, data, and AI disciplines from one person
Who it suits
- Seed to Series B startups building their first data infrastructure or product practice
- Scale-ups whose product or data team is growing faster than its structure
- Founders who are technically capable but need a thinking partner on product or data decisions
- Teams that have hired junior talent and need a senior layer to guide them
- Businesses exploring AI but not sure where it fits or how to build toward it
What I focus on
Each retainer is shaped around your specific stage, team, and goals. In practice, most engagements draw on two or more of the following areas — which is the point. Product, data, and AI are most valuable when they work together.
Product Design
From early concept to shipped feature. I help you decide what to build, in what order, and why — then work through the design and architecture to make it real.
This includes product strategy and prioritisation, feature scoping, concept validation, product-market fit thinking, and working through the details of how a feature should behave before development starts. I think in systems — so I focus on how each decision connects to the whole, not just the immediate requirement.
Good for: Founders defining what to build next. Teams that ship fast but want to make fewer wrong turns.
UX / UI Design
User research, information architecture, wireframes, and high-fidelity interfaces — grounded in how people actually think and behave, not how we assume they do.
I work in Figma. I can take a product from rough concept to design-ready spec, or come in at any stage of an existing design process to improve clarity, consistency, and usability. My approach is to design for how the product will actually be used under real conditions — not the ideal scenario.
Good for: Products that feel cluttered or unclear. Teams preparing for a design handoff to developers. Founders who want to test ideas before committing to build.
Data Strategy
Building the systems, pipelines, and frameworks that turn raw data into decisions your team can act on — reliably, repeatedly, and at the pace your business moves.
This means helping you decide what data to collect and why, how to store and structure it, what tools fit your stage and team, and how to avoid the common trap of building data infrastructure that nobody uses. I bring a systems-thinker’s approach: I care about how each layer connects — ingestion, transformation, governance, and consumption — not just one piece in isolation.
Good for: Teams at the point where spreadsheets are breaking down. Startups preparing for Series A data diligence. Scale-ups with data silos that need untangling.
Analytics & Insights
Dashboards, reporting, and analysis that give you a clear, honest picture of what is working, what is not, and where to go next — not just charts for the sake of charts.
I help you define the metrics that actually matter for your stage, build the reporting that surfaces them clearly, and interpret what the data is telling you. I work across Tableau, Power BI, Looker, and SQL-first environments. The goal is always the same: turn numbers into decisions, not noise.
Good for: Teams with data but no clear picture of it. Founders who feel like they are flying blind. Scale-ups preparing investor-ready analytics.
AI & Machine Learning
Practical AI applications embedded into your product or workflow — built for real business outcomes, not demos. I help you identify the right use cases, evaluate feasibility, and implement with care.
Most businesses are at one of three stages with AI: unsure where it fits, exploring a specific use case, or trying to scale something that works. I can help at any of those points. I work across the OpenAI API, Python, TensorFlow, and data pipelines that feed ML models — and I bring the same detail-oriented, systems-thinking approach to AI that I bring to product and data work.
Good for: Founders who want to explore AI but need a credible thinking partner. Teams with a working prototype that needs to become a production-grade feature. Businesses that want to understand what AI can realistically do for them.
How it starts
Every engagement begins with a single conversation. I want to understand your business, where it is right now, and what is getting in the way. From there I can tell you honestly whether I can help, and what that help looks like in practice.
There is no pitch, no proposal template, and no obligation. If we are a fit, we agree a scope and start. If we are not, I will tell you that too — and point you in a more useful direction if I can.
Pramod Siddabattuni - Product Consultant / Data Solutions Architect 