Ian Janicki
Startup Consultant
I offer consulting services to fast-moving startups, focusing on product, design, and engineering.
I'm a 2-time YC-backed founder and have worked with companies like Glide, NFDG, Ivo, and more. I am widely useful, deeply pragmatic, and a quick study. I like to help founders shore up their weaknesses, expose their biases, and help them grow — by creating pixels, code, or defining product direction.
I have a high bias for action and low tolerance for bullshit. With an outside perspective, I can help observe your customers' needs with a fresh set of eyes, and help you focus on the right things — and not superfluous ones.
Who should work with me
- Technical founders who are brilliant at what they do, but lack the craft & taste for great product experiences
- Seasoned founders stuck in the "plausible but wrong" trap, building things that seem like they should work but keep missing the mark
- Teams with a scrappy MVP that works but looks and feels like it was built in a garage - because it was
- Founders drowning in the classic "we need a PM, designer, AND frontend dev but can't afford three people" dilemma
- Teams moving too slow because they're obsessing over perfect execution instead of rapid learning and brutal customer feedback
Expertise
Product
I've built products from the ground up, and I've helped companies ship products that work.
with experience at
Engineering
I'm a fast-moving full-stack engineer in the JS/TS ecosystem with an eye for design.
favorite tools & frameworks
Design
I started my career cutting my teeth on product design — transforming complex specs into succint, beautiful, and informative interfaces.
What clients say
Many can prototype, few can extract deep customer insights, even fewer can do both while navigating the complex intersection of design, engineering, and product strategy. Ian is one of those rare few — he rapidly visualizes ambitious concepts, extracts critical insights from customers, and refines concepts against the hard grain of reality to find the value in ideas.
David SiegelCo-Founder & CEO, Glide
Ian combines exceptional design and product sense with a highly-pragmatic approach to problem-solving. He takes the initiative to understand problems deeply from both the perspective of customers and the business. As a designer and builder, Ian approaches his work with a rare sense of care, craft, and intensity – and customers notice.
Stew FortierCo-Founder & CEO, Type
Ian has been incredible to work with. Our prospects and customers frequently praise our UI and user experience, much of which Ian has designed single-handedly. He is highly productive, has excellent taste, and knows when and how to challenge our product assumptions. We are an early-stage startup with minimal processes, and Ian has thrived in navigating ambiguity and adapting to evolving requirements.
Min-Kyu JungCo-Founder & CEO, Ivo
How I like to work
- I prefer to work on an a retainer with a recurring time slot that we mutually prepare for, in order to be highly effective during our sprints
- Async-first & Slack-first, with long batches of deep work peppered with small batches of synchronous huddles
- Access to founder or key stakeholder during our sprints, to be able to provide rapid feedback & guidance (ie. Clear your calendar)
Get in Touch
If you're interested in working together, feel free to reach out via email. Let's discuss how I can help your startup achieve its goals.