For people who connect good people
A company buried in manual work. Engineers ready to get more from AI. A founder who needs technical leadership. Here’s an easy way to make the introduction.
Email Ivan and copy the person you’re introducing.
Ivan Smirnov (ex-Google; co-founder and CTO of Elude, acquired by Going) runs Smirnov Labs, which builds custom software with AI at the core and does deep AI upleveling for engineering teams. He can also step in as a fractional CTO. Worth 30 minutes if your company wants to get serious about AI. https://cal.com/ismirnov/30min
My friend Ivan Smirnov is ex-Google and was the co-founder and CTO of a startup that got acquired. His firm, Smirnov Labs, builds custom software with AI at the core, and does deep AI upleveling for teams: hands-on workshops plus a hand-crafted, personalized AI handbook for each engineer. He can also step in as a fractional CTO. If your company wants to get serious about AI, grab 30 minutes with him: https://cal.com/ismirnov/30min (tell him I sent you)
Listen for the problem
For companies with revenue that want to put AI to work in their business.
“The business runs on spreadsheets and disconnected SaaS.”
Custom software with AI built in“They want AI on their data, but it can’t go to a cloud API.”
Private, on-premises AI infrastructure“Their engineers have AI tools but get little out of them.”
Workshops and personalized AI handbooks“They want Claude Code on their real codebase, safely.”
Sandboxed setup and an AI review gateUsually not a fit: pre-revenue ideas without a budget set aside for the build.
Also worth an introduction
When technology has consumed capital without shipping, or a deal needs technical due diligence: a one-to-two-week audit of stack, team and execution, grounded in the code, with an executive report and a prioritized plan.
A fractional CTO on a monthly retainer before the full-time hire: architecture, roadmap, vendor and agency oversight, hiring, and technical credibility with investors and boards.
Vetted engineers embedded in their team, billed monthly through Smirnov Labs. We handle sourcing, payroll and replacement if a placement isn’t working.
Build capacity behind their own clients.
One example to share
A two-day workshop took a hospitality software team from setup to working with Claude Code on their own codebase. Each engineer also got a hand-crafted, personalized AI upleveling handbook.
See the engagementAn easy introduction
Email Ivan and copy the person you’re introducing, or forward one of the messages above. A sentence about what they’re working through is enough.
Introduce us by email Let them choose the next step. Or send them to Ivan’s calendar