Battle-tested in the trenches of startup chaos
For over two decades, I've been the steady hand that struggling engineering teams need when everything seems to be falling apart.
Who I Am
My name is Dave Ott. My career has taken shape in some of the most turbulent environments: early-stage startups defined by constant ambiguity, high-growth companies wrestling with explosive scale, and engineering teams steering through mergers and acquisitions.
While others see chaos, I see opportunity. While teams struggle with dysfunction, I see the path to clarity.
Success Stories from the Trenches
At Tuft & Needle, I didn't just build an engineering team—I scaled it through explosive growth from a bootstrap startup to a major acquisition by Serta Simmons. When chaos threatened to derail our merger, I kept the engineering org steady, ensuring critical deadlines were not missed.
At ThreeFlow, I inherited three teams struggling through major organizational change—morale was low, deadlines were slipping, and chaos was becoming the norm. Within 90 days, we launched a new API integration team from zero to production, increased engineering headcount, and transformed our development process into a high-trust, high-performance machine.
I Know These Patterns
- The Greenfield Gamble: Building something from nothing with unclear requirements, tight deadlines, and everything at stake
- The Scaling Crisis: When rapid growth breaks everything at once—systems, processes, and team dynamics all fail simultaneously
- The Performance Emergency: Critical systems buckle under load while customers and revenue hang in the balance
- The Team Turmoil: Low morale, high turnover, and missed deadlines spiral into a cycle of blame and dysfunction
- The Merger Mayhem: Two cultures, two tech stacks, and conflicting priorities create organizational paralysis
Shaped by Industry Leaders
My approach was shaped by years at some of the industry's most respected development consultancies, where I learned what separates great teams from struggling ones.
These weren't just jobs—they were masterclasses in how high-performing engineering teams operate under pressure, deliver consistently, and maintain quality while scaling rapidly.
Not Just Another Consultant
I don't observe from the sidelines. I embed myself in your team, roll up my sleeves, and lead from within. Whether it's writing critical code, restructuring teams, fixing broken processes, or mentoring overwhelmed leaders, I do whatever it takes to pull your team back from the brink.
My technical expertise spans the full stack—Ruby on Rails, React, Node.js, AWS, and more—but my real superpower is knowing when to code, when to lead, and when to get out of the way.
Your Chaos Ends Here
If your engineering team is drowning in dysfunction, missing deadlines, and losing talent, you don't need another advisor. You need someone who's been in the trenches, who's navigated every type of startup storm, and who can lead your team back to solid ground.