The founding team
you didn't hire.
We've shipped at NASA, GE, Cargill, and 3M — inside startups, Fortune 500s, and federal agencies. Now we plug into your company to close the gap between strategy and execution.
6+
Years at NASA Mission Control
$2M+
ARR unlocked via compliance
0→1
Startups to enterprise contracts
Where we've shipped
Most companies don't fail at strategy.
They fail at execution.
There's a gap between knowing what to build and shipping it to production. It's where AI initiatives stall, new product lines get stuck in pilot, and compliance debt accumulates.
You can hire consultants who'll write you a deck. You can hire contractors who'll build what you scoped. Neither closes the gap.
Founding Crew closes it. We're operators with founder-grade judgment, not pairs of hands.
What we do
Three pillars. One embedded team.
AI Automation & Training
We help your team go from 'we should use AI for that' to 'we shipped it last week.' We don't sell you tools you can buy yourself — we train your team to use them, integrate them into your workflows, and own the result.
- Automation rollouts
- Workflow audits
- AI training programs
- Change management
Who it's for: Companies whose teams need to actually use AI, not just talk about it.
0→1 Product
You have an idea. You need it shipped. We do product direction, customer experience, and software development as a single embedded team — the same way a founding team works.
- MVP builds
- Product strategy
- Customer onboarding flows
- Full-stack engineering
- Design
Who it's for: Seed-stage startups and intrapreneurs at Fortune 500s who need 0→1 velocity.
Compliance & Infrastructure
SOC 2. NIST 800-171. HIPAA. CI/CD that doesn't fall over. We also run AI processing locally against regulated data — patient records, financial files, sensitive CSVs — so you get the speed of automation without data ever leaving your environment.
- Compliance programs
- Security policies
- DevSecOps pipelines
- Cloud architecture
- Observability
- Local and cloud deployed AI data pipelines
Who it's for: Startups, academic institutions, and enterprises selling into or operating within regulated markets that need a project shipped without expanding headcount.
The process
How we work.
Diagnose
One free call. We figure out if we're the right team for the problem. If not, we'll tell you who is.
Scope
Fixed-fee proposal in 5 business days. Clear deliverables. Clear timeline. No retainers.
Embed
We work like part of your team. Daily standups, shared Slack, on-call for launches.
Hand off
We document everything and train your team to own it. Then we leave. That's the point.
The team
Two operators. One firm. A network of more.
Katie Heinemann
Engineering & Compliance Lead
Six years shipping mission-critical software at NASA, including the procedure tracking system used at Houston Mission Control for ISS operations. Built the SOC 2 and NIST 800-171 compliance foundation at a seed-stage startup that opened enterprise markets. Aerospace engineer (University of Minnesota), MPH (Johns Hopkins).
Nate Shrader
Product & Strategy Lead
Built and scaled 0→1 products inside Cargill and 3M, including a hardware + software business serving McDonald's, KFC, and Target Field. Founder-in-residence at the world's largest private company. CES Innovation Award honoree. BSB Carlson School of Management, Kellogg Executive Education.
Together we cover the full product lifecycle — customer experience, product direction, engineering, and compliance. We've worked inside startups, Fortune 500s, and federal agencies. We've shipped internationally. Whatever stage you're at, 0→1 or scaling, we've been there.
The bench
We bring more than two people.
Founding Crew includes a vetted network of operators, engineers, and specialists. When your project needs it, we pull in the right people — already trusted, already proven.
Track record
What we've shipped.
SOC 2 in 6 months. NIST 800-171 underway. $2M ARR in new vertical unlocked.
Seed-stage startup
Founder-led the compliance program that opened regulated enterprise markets.
0→1 hardware + software product business shipping to McDonald's, KFC, and Target Field.
Cargill HorizonsBuilt from a garage to enterprise contracts with metered funding. CES Innovation Award honoree.
Mission-critical procedure tracking deployed at NASA Houston Mission Control.
NASA Johnson Space CenterSix years of full-stack work on systems used for International Space Station operations.
FAQ
Common questions.
Consulting firms write decks. We ship products. We embed with your team, own the outcomes, and hand off working systems — not slide recommendations. We have skin in the execution, not just the strategy.
Contractors execute what you spec. We figure out what to build, how to build it, and why — then build it. If the spec is wrong, we'll tell you before you pay for something that won't work.
No you're not. Seed-stage is exactly when founder-grade execution matters most. We've worked with 2-person teams and helped them punch into enterprise markets. Small is a feature, not a blocker.
No you're not. We've shipped inside Cargill, 3M, and NASA. We understand compliance requirements, procurement, and the politics of large organizations. Regulated markets are a specialty, not a limitation.
Fixed-fee per project. No hourly, no retainer. You know what you're getting and what it costs before we start. Scope changes require a new proposal — no scope creep, no surprise invoices.
Three to six months for a defined project. We have done shorter sprints (6-8 weeks) for focused audits or compliance work. We don't do indefinite retainers — we complete the work and hand it off.
Let's talk.
Free 30-minute call. We'll tell you whether we're the right team for the job.
Start a conversationnate@foundingcrew.io