I help mission-driven teams figure out where AI genuinely helps, where it doesn't, and how it fits the work you already care about. That judgment comes from 20+ years taking products from prototype to national scale.
About
One idea runs through everything I've built: technology in service of human potential. I pair deep technical execution with a clear sense of why the work matters.
I'm a technology executive and inventor with over two decades of experience building, scaling, and commercializing SaaS platforms used by millions of people. The motivation traces back further, to building a university's first online enrollment systems, and to teaching English in Japan to students from age 2 to 80+. Both taught me the same thing: the best technology meets people where they are and helps them grow.
At CollegeNET, as Vice President of Emerging Technologies, I invented, architected, and launched StandOut, an AI-powered video-interview platform, taking it from prototype to powering the top universities in the country. The aim was never just the software; it was helping people put their best selves forward, and leveling a field that's never been level.
The work carries weight beyond my own products: my foundational 2012 asynchronous video interview patent has been cited over 100 times, including by HireVue, Google, IBM, and Microsoft, the firms that went on to define video interviewing and AI hiring.
I hold 10 issued patents and co-created the Social Mobility Index, a nationally recognized framework ranking universities on how well they advance economic mobility. As founder of Bolton Consulting, I bring that same pairing (technical depth and a sense of purpose) to organizations using technology to expand what people can learn, access, and do.
Services
A few focused ways I help, whether you're figuring out where AI fits, scaling a product that's outgrowing itself, or protecting the ideas you've worked hard to invent.
AI can stretch what a small team or a tight budget can do, but only when it actually fits. I help you find where AI genuinely helps and where it doesn't, then architect and build the integration: LLM APIs, agentic workflows, retrieval over your own data, evals that prove it's working, and AI-assisted development practices, with care for security, transparency, and the people it touches.
AI / LLMExecutive-level guidance for SaaS and subscription platforms. I bridge complex engineering execution and strategic business goals. Having scaled a product from prototype to hardened, multi-tenant national SaaS, I know what survives the trip from demo to production and what doesn't.
SaaS / ProductI don't just advise on IP. I've built it. My patents are cited by HireVue, Google, IBM, and Microsoft, and one is foundational prior art across the AI-interview industry. I can help teams spot what might be patentable, and turn invention into durable competitive advantage.
Patents / IPWorking Together
Hiring a consultant shouldn't feel like signing up for an open-ended commitment. Here's exactly what happens when you reach out.
A free 30-minute conversation about what you're building and where you want help. No deck, no pitch. If I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you so and point you toward someone who is.
Within a few days, you get a written proposal: fixed scope, concrete deliverables, and plain pricing. You'll know exactly what you're buying before you commit to anything.
Hands-on work with regular check-ins. Every engagement ends with something you keep: an architecture, a roadmap, working systems, and the knowledge to run them without me.
Let's talk about what you're building, whether you're scaling it, still shaping the idea, or just trying to figure out where AI actually fits.