This is a high-level overview of the sort of problems I help with and how you can engage with me. I also sprinkled testimonials from my LinkedIn Recommendations section for good measure.
Interested in working together? Book a free intro call or contact me to discuss.
Yanir has the rare qualities of being (a) very good with data and (b) very able to express his opinions – especially when he doesn’t agree with how something is being done. His unwavering focus on the quality and efficiency of the development process has transformed the platform and team itself.
Problems I help with
- Implementing Data/AI/ML projects
- Selecting Data/AI/ML tools and platforms
- Engaging with vendors and agencies
- Reviewing your architecture and roadmaps
- Hiring your first Data/AI/ML professionals
Interested in working together? Book a free intro call or contact me to discuss.
Yanir is that rare data/AI practitioner who combines deep experience in data science with breadth in software engineering and experience working with marketing and product teams. This vastly increases the success rate of data/AI projects that he’s involved with.
Modes of engagement
We start with low-commitment engagements to assess fit and build mutual trust. If there’s scope for deeper work, I’ll embed with your team to help with hands-on delivery. My goal is to help you build in-house capabilities so you can keep growing independently.
Engagements fall into one of the following four buckets.
1. One-off advisory calls
These are meant to tackle a specific issue within the space of an hour, such as:
- First Data/AI/ML hire for your startup
- Review of your AI/ML opportunities and approach
- Advice on a specific data science problem
The fee for a one-off advisory call is AU$300, which includes my preparation based on information that you provide. If I don’t meet your expectations, you may cancel the call for a full refund up to 15 minutes from the start time.
2. Bespoke review and roadmapping
This includes tailoring my Data-to-AI Health Check for Startups to your needs.
We’ll follow this process:
- Gather information: Collect details about the current state of your Data/AI/ML lifecycles and operations, focusing on major pain points and requirements. This is done through document requests, email questions, and meetings with team members, while minimising disruption to your everyday work.
- Analyse findings: Summarise key findings to assess where you stand relative to best practices and your goals.
- Recommend roadmap: Develop a roadmap to support adoption of best practices and appropriate tools based on the identified gaps and requirements. The goal is to match your needs and capacity rather than simply recommend a bunch of tools from the aptly-named MAD landscape.
Fees depend on the complexity of your startup, but typically start at AU$7000.
3. Custom Data/AI/ML projects
Depending on your business needs and my capacity, we may work together on well-scoped short-term Data/AI/ML projects. For example, I can help you set up a minimum viable data stack or prototype an AI/ML system (e.g., for computer vision, marketing optimisation, or data extraction – the possibilities are endless). This will happen in collaboration with your team, with the goal of building your capacity to maintain the project artefacts.
Fees for short-term projects vary, but are fixed at the project or milestone level for predictable budgeting.
4. Fractional engagements
Once we’ve worked together on a custom project or review, we may decide to collaborate for a longer term. The fancy name for this engagement is Fractional Chief Data & AI Officer, which essentially means I’d join your team on a part-time basis. As I’m targeting seed to series A startups, this would typically include some hands-on work, along with strategy and team formation.
Fees for fractional engagements start at AU$5000 per month.
Interested in working together? Book a free intro call or contact me to discuss.
Yanir came on as an accomplished data scientist and threw himself into early stage R&D project. He was able to quickly prototype to prove out early hypotheses, working as one often does in a start up - as a full-stack data guy: scientist, engineer and architect. His versatility extends beyond the fields of data science… as our CTO said: “Yanir practically s**** beautiful code”.
Principles
When approaching consulting engagements, I aim to follow these key principles:
- Getting to know you and the root of your business problems.
- Iteratively implementing pragmatic solutions.
- Saying what I’ll do, doing what I said, and communicating if anything changes.
To ensure the best results, I say no to engagements where there isn’t a great fit. In such cases, I may connect you to someone from my network who is better placed to help you.
Interested in working together? Book a free intro call or contact me to discuss.
Yanir and I spent years working very closely, we built out the entire Machine Learning and Experimentation function of Automattic / WordPress.com together. He is the single most talented person I’ve had the opportunity to work with in my nearly 15 years in Data/ML.
He’s an excellent engineer, a curious data scientist, an authoritative ML expert, and a confident & clear communicator. Yanir’s work isn’t driven by ego. He experiments with new tech but never gets distracted by the latest shiny objects. Instead, he’s dedicated to doing things the right way and choosing the right tools for the job, whether that’s a neural network-based time series regressor or a simple VLOOKUP.
Bio and mission
With over a decade of experience across various data and engineering roles, the main theme of my career has been bringing data-intensive applications to production. This has included anything from solving isolated data problems to building systems that serve millions of users. With a proven capability to work independently and in teams, lead and mentor colleagues, and communicate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, my focus is always on delivering business value.
My experience and formal education fall under three key areas:
- software engineering (15+ years; Computer Science BSc)
- data science / engineering (10+ years; Artificial Intelligence PhD)
- tech leadership (5+ years with startups and scaleups)
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My current mission is to help climate and nature tech startups grow and scale successfully with Data/AI/ML.
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Interested in working together? Book a free intro call or contact me to discuss.
In addition to volunteering with Reef Life Survey for nearly a decade, Yanir has initiated and led several paid projects to build and maintain public-facing tools on the Reef Life Survey website. These tools are phenomenal and have significantly improved volunteer training, field work, funding agency partnerships, reputation, and public engagement and knowledge. Yanir’s proactivity, creativity and high quality of work have been invaluable to our organisation. I strongly recommend Yanir to anyone looking to implement data & AI projects.
There are a lot of data scientists in the world today. They range from advanced analysts to experienced mathematicians. Yanir sits at a unique nexus: he has a strong academic background with sound mathematical and statistical skills, he can build solutions end to end, and he has a relentless thirst for the truth. I’d recommend Yanir any day if you are looking for someone who can execute thoughtfully and leave no stone unturned. You can trust Yanir’s outputs in a world where it is very easy to accidentally (or due to laziness) let the data lie to those who need it most.
Lastly, Yanir is passionate and I’ve had direct experience that he will see a conversation through no matter the degree of disagreement. He’s the kind of person you want to disagree with because you know you’ll get the best outcome or agree to disagree and feel like you are still on a team together. In my opinion, this working style is my favorite brand of loyalty – the ability to hash it out, find the truth, build solutions to move the business forward.