Andi Smith

Bloom was where I got my first blank page: a Series A business where I was the founding engineering hire and built the culture, the architecture and the delivery model the way I thought they should be built.

• Built the engineering function from zero to 14 across software engineering, delivery and quality.
• Designed the platform architecture: AWS microservices in a hexagonal pattern, Bedrock, React Native Expo and TypeScript. Bought rather than built anything outside core IP.
• Shipped AI-native product from the ground up: AI coaching assistants, personalised programme generation, content rules engines and social feeds.
• Owned security and compliance end to end: GDPR, SOC2 and ISO27701, including technical assurance for enterprise B2B customers.
• Handled financials directly, including budgeting, licensing negotiation and R&D tax returns.
• Worked with sales, customer success, coaching and operations to align the product roadmap to business objectives, through story mapping, prototyping and automation.

We used AI to enhance human coaching rather than replace it, with guided insights and takeaways from real sessions, and an anytime AI coaching assistant alongside them. I learnt AI worked best as an addition to the coaching relationship, not a substitute for it.