Kevin D.

Software Engineer · Writing on startup exits for devs 🍁

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

About

Full-stack software engineer, engineering manager, and startup founder. I'm currently trying to become a writer while still supporting a bunch of startups and not working too much. Wish me luck and say hi 🍁

Experience

  • Owner & CTO at Billiam
    Jan 2023 - Present · 3 yrs 6 mos

    My consulting practice, both hands on & advisory work: - Developed LLM feedback tools (RLHF) for Inflection AI, a consumer-focused frontier model company that raised 1.5 Billion - Consulted two private equity-backed EdTech platforms on Applied AI engineering + chatbots - Helped health tech startup make a quick pivot that lead to an acquisition - Consulted over a dozen startups on initial tech strategy, tech stack, & staffing.

  • Backend/Infrastructure | AI Engineering | Consultant at Tribe AI
    Dec 2025 - May 2026 · 6 mos

    Building scalable infrastructure and backend systems that power production AI applications. Helping organizations establish reliable foundations for GenAI products from prototype to scale. - Design and implement backend architectures for LLM-powered platforms and AI agents - Build infrastructure for RAG pipelines, vector databases, and model orchestration - Optimize system performance, latency, and cost across AI workflows - Partner with engineering leaders to ensure AI systems are production-ready, secure, and maintainable

  • CTO & Co-Founder at Focus With Fred
    Apr 2024 - Dec 2025 · 1 yr 9 mos

    Focus With Fred helps trial attorneys launch focus groups with human and AI feedback. Product built by trail lawyers, consultants, and PhD trial scientists that have over 10 years of experience changing their industry.

  • CTO & Co-Founder at Res Ipsa AI
    Feb 2024 - Dec 2025 · 1 yr 11 mos

    Res Ipsa AI was a startup getting better AI deposition summaries to trial attorneys. The LLC was dissolved in 2025 and the platform rolled into a private company's service offerings.

  • Lead Full-Stack Engineer at BlueCargo (YC S18)
    Jul 2021 - Jan 2023 · 1 yr 7 mos

    - Helped take the engineering team from 1 - 12 as a founding engineer - Seed to series A, k's to multiple M's in ARR