Ship a product customers love.
On-demand product strategy, collaboration, and technical coaching for
you and your team.
A private coaching & collaboration service where you get direct access to a seasoned, full-stack product designer/developer and multi-time founder (Brian Casel, that's me, hi ).
I offer this service in two flavors (you can mix and match):
Product strategy
Technical collaboration
We can go technical. We can go strategic. We can go tactical. We can go creative. Let’s dig into whatever is most pressing for you now to help you and/or your team ship a product that customers love.
This is the kind of high caliber collaboration partner I wish I had while grinding it out on my own products for the past 2 decades.
From SaaS to productized services, content and coaching… From launching to growing teams, to selling and exiting… I’ve been through these cycles enough times to know how difficult it can be to go it alone.
When you’re at the idea stage…
Let’s find ways to vet your hypotheses, and map customer needs to a simple solution that solves the core problem first.
When you’re building your MVP…
Let’s dial in your scope to ship the right product to customers sooner than expected. Then let’s learn and dial in our solution without misreading or over-complicating.
When you’re planning your roadmap…
Let’s get clear on priorities for customers and the best ways to meet them. Then let’s execute your plan on spec and on time.
When you’re shaping your next sprint…
Let’s dial in your designs and spec out features that give users the simplest, most intuitive interface without over-complicating or delaying a deployment.
Invite to me collaborate with you as you work on your product.
Kick off every collaboration by sending a new request. Anytime. As often as you want.
Within a business day, I’ll respond with a thoughtful contribution. We'll continue to hash it out until you and your team can proceed with confidence.
Examples of things I’d love to dig into with you:
"Here’s my read on a market gap and a product idea to solve it. Does this make sense?"
"Here’s a customer interview I did, and some key takeaways. Are you hearing what I’m hearing?"
"Our MVP needs to solve this problem. Here’s our mockup and spec document. What’s missing? How can we simplify?"
"We’re architecting a complicated new feature. Can you help us get it right?"
"Customers are having a hard time adopting this feature. How can we make it easier to use?"
"My developers told me this feature is complicated because of (technical reason I don’t quite understand). Can you help me make sense of this?"
"I’m learning how to build my product but I’m stuck. Can you help me bust through my learning curve?"
"Our product is functionally sound but the design, UI and UX needs work. Can you suggest some improvements?"
"My team isn’t meeting my expectations and quality standards. Can you review our workflow and find ways to help us work better together?"
"We need this page to communicate our product’s value. Can you review and offer ideas to improve conversions?"
Introductory special. 6 spots left.
$1000 $750/month
Introductory special. 4 spots left.
$2000 $1500/month
Let’s start with a free 30-minute strategy session. Tell me about your product/business, how you got to now, your upcoming goals and roadmap. We'll bat some ideas around and see whether one of remaining spots for my Product Advisor service might make sense for you.
Send me a bit of info about you, your product, and what you're currently working on. I'll get right back to you to schedule our first call.
That's me 👋 :)
I'm a multi-time founder and product person. Over the past 15 years, I've build, launched and exited multiple product businesses ranging from SaaS to productized services to education products.
In 2024, with the launch of Instrumental Products, I aim to expand my work as a product designer and strategist to help my fellow founders and product teams build and ship products that matter.
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Most of my recent experience is in SaaS (software) and productized services, both of which I'm happy to advise on.
I also have experience in education products (courses, community), consulting and coaching, and these are also fair game.
Most of my experience is in working with solo and small teams, both at the early startup stage, as well as more established businesses.
There is no limit on the number of new requests you can send—with one caveat:
I can only discuss and resolve a single issue with you at a time. I can’t get into your next new request until you’ve closed your current request and follow-ups.
When we communicate asynchronously, a new "request" is when we initiate a new topic of conversation or thing you want feedback on.
Once a request has been opened, we'll have as many "followups" to hash it out until you're satisfied and we can close the request.
You'll receive a thoughtful response within 1 business day (often sooner).
I'm also available to join you and your team on your live calls (see plans above).
For async, we’ll primarily use Clarityflow (my product) at no cost to you. This allows for threaded async conversations using video, audio, text and files. It also works via email and mobile.
If you prefer Loom, that’s great. You can embed Looms right inside Clarityflow!
If your plan includes live calls, we can use whichever calling tool you prefer (Zoom, etc.). Calls must be scheduled between 11am-5pm EST, M-F.
I’m not available to join your Slack or project management tool. But I'm happy to be included in your team call(s), if you're on that plan (see above).
Yes, if you're non-technical (or semi-technical), I'd love to offer coaching and guidance on technical aspects of designing and building your product.
Regardless of your tech stack, I can advise on general architecture, user interface design and user experience.
My tech stack of choice is Ruby on Rails, TailwindCSS, and lightweight Javascript. So when it comes to specific coding questions, this is where I feel at home.
Pair programming, design reviews, and light wireframing are all fair game. However, I won't be able to deliver code or design projects for you. I'm here to coach, assist, and accellerate you and your team's work.
Absolutely. You’re welcome to include your teammates in our async conversations and live sessions at no extra cost. Or include me in your team call(s) (see plans above).
Instrumental Products is the new brand I'm developing in 2024. This Product Advisor service is the first offering, which will soon expand into educational content, community, and events.