Building software where failure isn't theoretical

I'm Chris Brown. I've spent 20+ years building and leading engineering in environments where software has to work when it matters, not just when conditions are ideal.

The work that shaped me most was in environments where the system couldn't fail gracefully.

Claims Technology

I've built claims platforms handling real-time coordination between insurers, policyholders, and repair networks. A bad UX means a stressed customer. A system failure means operational chaos. FNOL systems, self-service portals, supplier integration, regulated data handling. I understand claims operations and the customer experience challenges most technologists miss.

Emergency Services

I've worked on systems for fire and rescue where response times are measured and lives depend on reliability. That changes how you think about architecture, about testing, about what "production-ready" actually means.

Live Event Technology

With Atlas Live Tracking, I built race timing and tracking systems trialled at events including Spartan Europe. Real-time athlete tracking published to spectators, where a missed split or timing failure is visible to everyone instantly. Real-time data at scale with no margin for error.

Always Lean

Every project I've led has been lean. Small teams. Restricted budgets. Legacy codebases that needed managing alongside new development. Integration with systems nobody wanted to touch. I've never had the luxury of greenfield with unlimited resources, and that's taught me more than any well-funded project ever could.

When you build under constraints, you learn what actually matters. You learn to make pragmatic trade-offs. You learn that perfect architecture means nothing if you can't ship it.

The Build Paradox

I founded The Build Paradox because I kept seeing the same pattern: companies under pressure to ship fast, making architectural compromises that seemed reasonable at the time, then spending years fighting against the consequences.

The paradox is that the pressure to build fast often prevents you from building at all. You end up maintaining, patching, working around. Never actually building.

I work with companies who are ready to break that cycle. Companies who understand that sustainable velocity beats sprint speed, and that the right foundations make everything else possible.

How I Work

I'm not here to tell you what you want to hear. I'm here to give you an honest assessment, a clear plan, and the support to execute it. I work with your team, not around them. My goal is to build your capability, not create dependency.

I'm as comfortable reviewing API contracts with your developers as I am presenting a risk assessment to your board. That range matters. Most technical consultants can do one or the other, not both. And in my experience, the gap between engineering reality and boardroom understanding is where most platform problems fester.

I succeed when you no longer need me.

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