Mangrove root system
PLATE. M / FIELD REFERENCE · RHIZOPHORA v.2026 · METHOD
Built for VC-backed & PE-backed companies

The moat layer
for funded
companies.

We find the proprietary expertise inside your company, rebuild it as defensible software, protect the IP, and deploy AI that compounds the moat before your next raise, acquisition, or exit. IP strategy, fractional CTO, and hands-on AI engineering, in one accountable team.

15
Years in regulated AI
10+
Patents issued / pending
20+
Platforms shipped
3
Disciplines, one house
FIG. 01 / THE TRIANGLE v.2026
IP × CTO × AI LIVE
IP INVENTOR · 10+ PATENTS CTO 15 YRS · REGULATED AI LLM · PATENT-PENDING
DIRECT ENGAGEMENTS / Fractional CTO, IP strategy, or AI engineering, 2011–2026
GoodRx CVS Deloitte The Mather Group ListReports Photopharmics Flagright Hiatus Wicker Park Group Spyglaz EstateCo Provenance Vrolio Bonus Homes Sage Capital Skin Research Institute Syncro Monitoring GoodRx CVS Deloitte The Mather Group ListReports Photopharmics Flagright Hiatus Wicker Park Group Spyglaz EstateCo Provenance Vrolio Bonus Homes Sage Capital Skin Research Institute Syncro Monitoring

Three disciplines.
One integrated team.

Method is built around all three disciplines under one roof, with a single accountable lead owning IP strategy, technical codification, and AI implementation end-to-end.

01 / SEE IT
IP Recognition

Deep IP experience and multiple patents issued or pending. We spot what's protectable in your business, often before your own counsel does.

INVENTOR · 10+ PATENTS · PORTFOLIO DESIGN
02 / BUILD IT
Technical Codification

CTO-grade engineering across HIPAA, fintech, logistics, and wealth management. We turn tacit expertise into shipping software owned entirely by you.

HIPAA · SOC2-READY · 20+ PLATFORMS
03 / COMPOUND IT
AI Implementation

LLM pipelines, agentic workflows, and nature-inspired algorithms anchored in your proprietary data. AI that widens the moat instead of draining it.

LLM · AGENTS · PATENT-PENDING

One engagement.
Four visible phases.

Start anywhere. The phases are designed to compose. Most engagements run Phase 0 → 1 → 2 over the first nine months, with Phase 3 triggered post-acquisition or pre-exit.

Phase 00
Defensibility Diagnosis/ inventory · protectability · roadmap
We inventory the proprietary expertise, data, processes, and technical assets that make your company valuable. Identify what's protectable, what's leaking, and what to codify first. Deliverable: 40-page diagnostic plus 60-minute readout.
$15K–$25K 3 weeks · fixed fee READ MORE →
Phase 01
Technical Codification/ embedded CTO + engineering
An embedded CTO plus a dedicated engineering team inside your company. We build the systems that turn proprietary expertise into defensible software. You own 100% of the IP.
$20K–$30K / mo month-to-month · 30-day notice READ MORE →
Phase 02
Compounding AI/ LLM · agents · knowledge systems
LLM pipelines, agentic workflows, and knowledge systems anchored in your proprietary data. AI that amplifies the moat instead of eroding it. Runs inside your VPC. No data retention by us.
Fixed-fee modules or embedded retainer READ MORE →
Phase 03
Takeover & Scale/ replace vendor / offshore team
Replace an offshore or vendor team without losing production. We stabilize in the first 60 days, own the roadmap, and execute through exit diligence. Clean handoff to acquirer at close.
Phase-1 fixed then retainer READ MORE →

Shipped. Not slideware.

Firm-voiced summaries of completed engagements. Active retainer clients are omitted. All case studies are published with client knowledge.

11 Section defensibility audit · adopted into product & IP roadmap
PUBLIC HEALTHCARE CO. REGULATED DATA IP DILIGENCE

IP + technical diligence ahead of strategic planning.

Outcome: Multi-section defensibility audit and technical architecture review across proprietary data assets, methods, and surface area. Findings adopted into product and IP roadmap across a multi-phase engagement.

IP STRATEGY · TECHNICAL CODIFICATION · REGULATED DATA · PATENT REVIEW
CLINICAL / HIPAA

Physician targeting + ecosystem map operational. Built the treatment ecosystem data layer and a physician-scoring system supporting the commercial team.

HIPAA · SNOWFLAKE · ML SCORING
RIA / MULTI-BILLION AUM

Proprietary relationship expertise captured as a defensible system asset. Built a churn prediction model codifying senior-advisor intuition before attrition hit.

PYTHON · XGBOOST · SF DATA CLOUD
REAL ESTATE TECH

Patent-pending technical assets filed. Multi-year data engineering and analytics engagement contributing to the company's IP surface.

AWS · DBT · PATENT APPLICATION
ENTERPRISE HEALTHCARE

Replaced offshore dev team as full product engineering. Clinical AI scribe scaled to enterprise platform. Method embedded as fractional CTO plus dedicated engineering team.

LLM PIPELINE · EHR INT · HIPAA
LEGAL TECH / LAUNCH

Concept to demo-day in under six months. Codifying legal expertise into a defensible AI-enabled product. Active retainer with full product ownership.

LLM · RAG · AGENTIC WORKFLOW
FREIGHT / OPTIMIZATION

Codified domain expertise into a technical system. Fixed Phase-1 build then ongoing retainer. Full product and roadmap ownership.

PYTHON · OPTIMIZATION · ROUTE ML

How we think about
your business.

Method is run by technologists who came up through field ecology. That lens changes what we look for in your company, and what we refuse to optimize for. Four principles that govern every engagement.

01 Fitness > efficiency

Specialists win the era. Generalists win the extinction.

Dinosaurs dominated the planet for 165 million years. When the environment shifted, the lineages that survived were not the most specialized ones. They were the ones carrying redundancy they didn't strictly need in the good times: dietary flexibility, metabolic range, behavioral plasticity. Companies optimized purely for efficiency are fragile to environment change. Method invests in redundancy and resilience where it matters: data, IP, and institutional memory.

Applied in → Phase 00 / Defensibility Diagnosis
02 Moats as ecosystems

A moat is an ecosystem, not a wall.

Walls fail at a single breach. Mature ecosystems keep functioning even when individual species are lost. The remaining web re-routes flows around the gap. We build defensibility as a network of interdependent assets: proprietary data, codified expertise, patented methods, institutional workflows. Remove any one and the others still hold.

Applied in → Phase 01 / Technical Codification
03 r vs K strategy

Most portcos inherit r-strategy DNA. Post-close, the job is K-conversion.

r-strategists ship fast, reproduce everywhere, protect nothing. It's the right strategy pre-product-market-fit. Then the company gets acquired and keeps running the same playbook into a new environment. Post-close, the winning move is K-conversion: concentrating investment in the 2–3 assets that actually compound, codifying what's proprietary, and retiring the bets that no longer serve the thesis.

Applied in → Phase 02 / Compounding AI
04 Roots > canopy

Compound the root network, not the canopy.

Canopies get defoliated. Root networks regenerate. Method invests engineering hours in infrastructure, data architecture, and proprietary models that compound quietly over time. The marketing surface, the shiny app, the sales motion all regrow from a healthy root system.

Applied in → Phase 03 / Takeover & Scale
15YRS
Regulated-industry depthHealthcare · Fintech · Wealth · Legal
10+PAT
Patents in productionIssued or pending, in client systems
HIPAABAA
Active covered engagementsRuns inside your VPC · no retention
20+PLT
Platforms shippedVC-backed & PE-backed

Answered plainly.

Q.01 Who is Method for? +
VC-backed startups, growth-stage SaaS, and PE portfolio companies (Series A through exit) that need defensible technology, protectable IP, and AI that compounds rather than erodes competitive advantage. We work primarily in regulated verticals: healthcare, legal tech, logistics, fintech, wealth management, and asset valuation.
Q.02 How is this different from a fractional CTO? +
A fractional CTO gives you technical leadership. Method gives you IP strategy, technical leadership, and AI engineering under one integrated firm with an embedded team. Most fractional CTOs cannot also run a defensibility diagnostic or build LLM pipelines in-house. Method can, because that is how the firm is built.
Q.03 What's the smallest way to start? +
A $15K–$25K Defensibility Diagnosis. Three weeks. You get an inventory of what is proprietary in your business, what is leaking, and what to codify first. Stop there or continue into Phase 1 with 30-day notice at any time.
Q.04 What does a full engagement cost? +
Month-to-month retainers typically run $20K–$30K for embedded CTO plus dedicated engineering. 30-day notice. Scope adjusts monthly. Phase 0 diagnostics and Phase 3 takeovers are fixed-fee. Method prices transparently and publishes ranges publicly, because PE readers should never have to ask.
Q.05 Who owns the IP you create? +
You do. In every case. Method retains zero ownership over client software, methods, or derivative IP. Assignment is executed at kickoff. This is a non-negotiable part of how we work.
Q.06 Do you work under HIPAA / BAA? +
Yes. Multiple active HIPAA-covered engagements with executed Business Associate Agreements. Method operates comfortably inside regulated-data environments and will run inside your VPC if required. No data retention outside your environment by default.
Q.07 Can you replace an offshore or vendor team? +
Yes. Phase 3 Takeover & Scale is designed for exactly this. We stabilize production in the first 60 days, then own the roadmap. Method has replaced teams at ZS Associates India, an offshore dev shop, and two domestic vendors without a production incident.
Q.08 Who is on the team? +
Each engagement is led by a senior operator backed by the firm's bench: multiple issued and pending patents, active IP strategy practice, and 15+ years of combined delivery in regulated industries. Dedicated LLM, data, and ML engineers are assigned per engagement, not subcontracted. You work with the same team from kickoff through completion. Team composition is disclosed in the engagement letter.
Q.09 What happens if the lead is unavailable mid-engagement? +
Every engagement letter names a successor with equivalent authority, all IP and documentation is escrowed in your environment as the work happens, and the embedded team is built to continue delivery without lead involvement for up to 30 days. Continuity is a contract term, not a promise.
SHIPPED. NOT SLIDEWARE.
BOOKING Q2 2026 DIAGNOSTICS

Tell us what you're
trying to protect,
codify, or build.

A 30-minute call. No pitch deck. If we can help, we'll tell you. If we can't, we'll tell you that too.

or email contact@methoddatascience.com Newport Beach, CA