Erik N.

I am a technical and business-focused consultant, advisor, and writer with 25+ years of experience supporting science and technology-driven companies. I blend deep technical fluency with executive-level strategy, product insight, and high-stakes communication. I have supported 100+ startup and SME teams across edtech, biotech, medical devices, cybersecurity, SaaS, AI and ML, blockchain, robotics, finance, and health and wellness. I have been instrumental in the growth of 9 startups, including 6 that I co-founded, with 3 exits so far. My background includes founding leadership, authoring 75+ patent applications, and contributing to more than $2.5B in combined equity and competitive grant funding. What I do I help teams turn complex ideas into clear, investor-ready, customer-ready, and reviewer-ready materials that hold up under scrutiny. I work closely with founders, scientists, engineers, and executives to produce content and strategy that is precise, persuasive, and aligned with real business constraints. Typical outcomes include faster fundraising cycles, tighter product decisions, cleaner diligence, stronger partnership conversations, and fewer expensive misunderstandings. Core offerings Investor, partner, and customer narratives • Pitch decks and investor narratives, including messaging, positioning, and data room readiness • One-pagers, executive summaries, and strategic briefs • Market framing, TAM and SAM logic, competitor landscapes, and GTM strategy Due diligence and transaction support • Investor due diligence document sets for preseed through later stages • M&A planning, diligence support, and integration-ready documentation • Startup valuation modeling and analysis, including assumptions, scenarios, and narrative defensibility Grant and non-dilutive funding • SBIR and STTR Phase I and Phase II proposals for NSF, NIH, DoD, and DOE • Specific Aims, technical narrative, innovation case, commercialization strategy, budget support, and full compliance formatting Product and technical documentation • Product requirement documents and functional specification documents • Technical white papers, lite papers, and architecture or method deep dives • Product and specification documents, validation summaries, and customer-facing technical narratives IP and patents • Provisional patent drafting, including interviews, embodiments, and complete filing-ready structure • Full utility patent drafting, including claims support, detailed embodiments, and figure coordination (diagrams and drawings included as needed) • Attorney-ready formatting and prosecution-friendly clarity Strategic communications • Founder communications, outreach messaging, and executive-level writing for high-stakes situations • Press announcements and thought leadership that stay technical enough to be credible, and clear enough to be shared How I work My process is collaborative and structured: I get to clarity quickly, turn ambiguity into a plan, and deliver artifacts that teams can actually use. I can plug in as a hands-on creator, a strategic editor, or a fractional partner who stays close to the business and product. Rates and retainers Standard hourly rate: $95 per hour. Standard hourly rate: $175 per hour. Retainers (discounted): • Weekly: $1,650 for 10 hours at an effective rate of $165 per hour • Biweekly: $3,100 for 20 hours at an effective rate of $155 per hour • Monthly: $5,800 for 40 hours at an effective rate of $145 per hour Monthly engagement minimum applies. Fractional retainers are available. Special discounts may be available on a case by case basis, including mixes of equity and hourly rate. Background PhD in Physics, with graduate degrees in Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science.