What I Do Before Writing a Single Line of Code: A Full System Audit for Non-Technical Founders
Most founders who've been burned by a developer think the problem was the code. It usually isn't — or at least not only. By the time I get involved, the conversation tends to start the same way: "I've already been through one developer, things aren't working the way I expected, and I don't really know what I have." My most recent client was the exception. He came in unusually prepared — owned every repo and third-party account, had a working understanding of how his stack tied together, and got everything over to me quickly. That's rare. Most founders can't tell you who owns their database credentials, let alone explain how their API talks to their frontend. Even so, when we moved to launch, we hit a problem that could have stalled development entirely and cost real money to untangle. The audit is why it didn't.