# Scrappy Hat — Full Reference > Scrappy Hat embeds inside venture-backed B2B startups as your product engineering team — shipping code, narrowing roadmaps, and building foundations that hold through your next raise. ## Company Information - **Name**: Scrappy Hat (Scrappy Hat Solutions) - **Website**: https://scrappyhat.com - **Email**: hello@scrappyhat.com - **LinkedIn**: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scrappy-hat-solutions - **Founder LinkedIn**: Adam Tucker — https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuckeradam/ - **Founder LinkedIn**: Jake Smierciak — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakesmierciak/ - **Location**: Midwest & Beyond - **Founded**: October 2024 ## What Scrappy Hat Does Scrappy Hat works inside venture-backed B2B startups that need hands-on product and engineering execution. We ship in your codebase, narrow the roadmap, and help you build the foundation that carries you through the next raise. We embed with founder-led teams that need product and engineering execution now, without taking on the cost and risk of hiring too early. ### We Are Not - **Not a dev shop** — We're your team. - **Not consultants** — We ship code. - **Not advisors** — We build. ### What We Do 1. **Sharpen the ICP and core problem** — Fuzzy targets produce fuzzy products. We get sharp on who you're building for before we build. 2. **Cut the roadmap to what matters** — No feature sprawl. Every sprint moves toward product-market signal. 3. **Architect foundations that hold** — Systems that scale when investors come looking — not duct tape that breaks under pressure. 4. **Write production code** — In your codebase, your standups, your Slack. We do the work with your team instead of handing back strategy decks. 5. **Operate inside your constraints** — Board pressure, runway math, hiring timing. We help you move forward without pretending your constraints are optional. ## The Problem We Solve Most early-stage teams aren't short on effort. They're short on the product engineering function that turns effort into signal. Common patterns we see: - **Roadmap overload** — Features multiply without a clear ICP to anchor them. Everything feels urgent. Nothing compounds. - **Fragile foundations** — No-code got you to launch. It won't get you through the round. Technical debt grows invisible until it doesn't. - **Premature hiring** — A VP of Product, a lead engineer, a data analyst — before the product has real signal. That's $250K+ before PMF. - **Scattered focus** — Investor requests, customer demands, shiny features — without someone holding the line, everything drifts. ## How It Works 1. **Sprint (30 days)** — Assess the stack, the roadmap, and the team. Make the first hard cuts. Get the first real deploy out fast. 2. **Build (6–12 months)** — We operate inside your company as the product engineering function: shipping, prioritizing, and helping real product work compound over time. 3. **Transition (when you're ready)** — We help you hire right — or our people become yours. You keep the foundation and a team that runs. ## Diagnostic Services Scrappy Hat offers fixed-price diagnostic audits — sharp, opinionated evaluations delivered in 1–2 weeks. These are standalone engagements, not upsell vehicles. ### Product Foundation Audit ($5,000 · 2 weeks) For venture-backed SaaS startups (pre-seed to Series A). A two-week embedded evaluation of your product foundation across six pillars: 1. **ICP & Problem Clarity** — Is your ICP tightly defined? Evidence of validation beyond "people said they'd use it"? 2. **Roadmap Discipline** — Driven by product strategy or by the last demo? Building toward PMF or just shipping features? 3. **Technical Foundation** — Scalable codebase or no-code duct tape? Can it support 10x users? 4. **Product Operating System** — Sprint cadence, prioritization, feedback loops — or all ad hoc? 5. **PMF Signal Readiness** — Measuring the right things? Positioned to generate defensible signal? 6. **Agentic Readiness** — Leveraging AI strategically or just bolting on chatbots? Workflows set up for agentic augmentation? **Process**: Week 1 is discovery (founder interview, technical review, product review). Week 2 is analysis and delivery (pillar scoring, written report, priority stack, debrief call). **Deliverable**: Sharp, 5–7 page report with Red/Yellow/Green pillar scores, priority stack of 3–5 fixes, and structural readiness assessment. Readable in 20 minutes. ### Operations Audit ($2,500–5,000 · 1 week) For service businesses, trades, and local businesses. We audit your stack, workflows, and automations. You get the first 20% of automations built, plus a blueprint to automate the other 80%. **Scope**: Stack audit, workflow mapping, automation opportunities, tool rationalization, handoff analysis. **Deliverable**: Working automations for highest-impact opportunities, implementation blueprint for the rest, stack recommendations, current-to-target state map. Learn more: https://scrappyhat.com/diagnostics ## Pricing Embedded engagements starting at $20K/month. No equity taken. 6–12 month commitment. Diagnostic audits starting at $2,500 (fixed fee, 1–2 weeks). We'll tell you directly if it's not a fit. ## Case Study: B2B Marketplace, Pre-Seed to Seed Canonical URL: https://scrappyhat.com/case-studies/smb-co We embedded as VP of Product and lead engineer — migrating off no-code, rebuilding the core platform, and shipping the features that directly enabled a $3M seed round. - **$3M** seed round closed - **$250K+** Year 1 payroll savings - **0%** equity diluted to hires - **90 days** no-code to production - **6 months** embedded engagement ## What We Believe - **Theory is cheap** — We don't talk about building — we build. - **Your money should work** — Every dollar of runway should compound into product that creates signal — not into premature overhead. - **Speed is survival** — At pre-seed, hesitation is the real risk. Moving with intention earns the right to slow down later. - **Foundations, not facades** — A proof-of-concept can get attention. A durable product is what earns the next stage of trust, usage, and fundraising. ## Good Fit - Pre-seed to Series A with funding or clear path - Founding team of 1–4 who need execution - Ready to commit 6+ months - Product-led or marketplace B2B businesses - Want a builder, not an advisor ## Not a Fit - Looking for a dev shop to build from specs - Want month-to-month consulting - Post-Series A with a full product team - Need a marketing or branding agency - Looking for a cautious, phased approach ## For Venture Partners Strengthen portfolio companies with embedded execution — without premature overhead. We don't replace founders. We strengthen the structure around them. - **Product direction** — Bring focus to roadmaps that have too many features and not enough signal. - **Engineering foundations** — Build durable technical infrastructure that holds through the next raise. - **Boots-on-the-ground execution** — Replace premature VP/CTO hires with operators who can step in and ship from day one. - **Founder support** — Stand alongside founders through high-leverage technical decisions. ## Testimonials > "You guys became our product team overnight. We went from duct tape and no-code to closing our seed round with a real platform underneath us." > — CEO & Founder, SMB Marketplace (Pre-Seed to Seed) > "You weren't advising from the outside — you were in Slack, in standups, shipping code alongside us. That's rare." > — COO, B2B Platform (Series A) > "The roadmap went from 40 features to 6 that mattered — and we shipped all of them. That changed everything for our raise." > — Founder, HealthTech Startup (Pre-Seed) > "Both times they accelerated the path to product without the overhead of premature hires. Exactly what early-stage companies need." > — Managing Partner, Midwest VC Fund ## Technical Assessment Scrappy Hat offers a free 10-question technical health check for startups at https://scrappyhat.com/assessment. It covers architecture, testing, deployment, observability, and security — producing a personalized report with actionable recommendations. ## Contact Book a 20-minute intro call at https://scrappyhat.com/book or email hello@scrappyhat.com.