Hi, I’m Jake.
If you landed here from my About Me, you already know how I think and what I care about. This page is narrower. It’s about building a company together.
I’m looking for a co-founder who cares deeply about craft, judgment, and doing things the right way. Technical, go-to-market, or a rare hybrid. Titles matter less than taste and follow-through.
My current focus is AI, specifically human-centered systems and new interaction models. Through FlightDouble, I’m building and testing cockpit workflows that explore how multimodal models and new interfaces can genuinely help pilots under pressure. This is not demos for demos’ sake. It’s real software, used in real contexts, with high expectations for UX and correctness.
I work in high-fidelity prototypes early. I think better with something concrete on the table, and I expect real opinions in return. If we meet, I’ll show up with something built. We’ll talk plainly about the problem, the approach, and whether we should keep going together.
I’m based in San Francisco and spend a lot of time in the Bay Area. Coffee works. Whiteboards work. Long walks where we argue about tradeoffs also work.
Working style wise, I’m direct, collaborative, and low ego. I like honest feedback early. I assume good intent. I optimize for long term trust.
If this resonates and you’re curious, reach out.
If someone comes to mind in your network, I’d really appreciate an intro.
What I’m looking for in a partner is pretty simple, but not easy.
The bar is high, on purpose.
If it clicks, it’ll be worth it.
Without getting more specific, here’s a blunt snapshot of what I bring, and what I’m looking for in a partner, so we can quickly tell if this is worth exploring:
Me:
- live in San Francisco;
- can pitch anything;
- have bias towards action;
- work extremely hard and have massive learning rate; can find, exploit, and sustain technical advantage; wrote a patent application with no prior experience in drafting patents;
- full-stack engineer in the truest sense of the term (Figma, Frontend, Backend, Mobile, AI/ML, MLOps, DevOps, Distributed Systems, Build Systems, Platform);
- have many years of experience in UI/UX/DX design; can rapidly create high-fidelity prototypes;
- love creating interactive UI animations, spring physics;
- can build, teams and code, from small to large. I led the effort to build and launch many software products from zero to one — in industries ranging from fintech, future of work, legal tech, edtech and social media;
- Love cross-pollinating ideas across different fields;
- my long-term role is CEO unless you have a proven record of execution and performance - in that case, I'm willing to move out of your way and support you however I can;
- value people and bits, quality and speed, and ultimately motivated by mission;
- excited to aim big and start something new;
- love to mentor; taught my non-technical, how to design, code and build products. She is currently an engineering leader at Netflix. I also coach others who had similar success stories.
You:
- live in San Francisco/Bay Area and plan to stay (here's why);
- show up on time (being late is disrespectful at best and signals a lack of seriousness about building something together);
- have bias towards action;
- are technical—as in you can write production-ready JavaScript code and have a good mathematical intuition — OR — are strong in B2B SaaS sales preferably with a network;
- excel at written communication, oral communication, team-building, leadership, and organizational skills;
- work hard;
- are ruthless about moving the company forward;
- understand that overnight success typically takes about 5 to 10 years;
- are self-confident and have the confidence to influence and lead a team;
- are not an asshole, or a brilliant jerk;
- are excited about many disciplines and are extraordinary at one;
- identify as an extrovert;
- no addiction to video games, alcohol, or drugs
Bonus Points:
- You drive a Cybertruck, or you want to;
- Your X (aka Twitter) game is fire;
- Work-life balance is the least of your concerns;
- You believe in meritocracy;
- You write a blog;
- If you're technical, you get what this guy's saying;
- You've read Play Bigger and align with the goal of becoming a category king;
- You enjoy hiring/working with people better than you are;
- You contribute to Open Source;
- You act on a vision of what can be. Money isn't your biggest motivator;
- Company culture and the team are the most important to you;
- You snowboard (skiing is alright—lame but alright);
- You're a coffee person.
If you've read this far, you should say hi.
Looking forward to the conversation!