Luka Horvat | Architect · Builder · Operator — End-to-End Technology Partner

Architect · Builder · Operator

Business results over buzzwords. Systems that work. From 0 to 1+

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About me

in a few words

Software is a means, not the end. I help clients navigate the full journey — from initial planning and the hard questions through architecture, development, deployment, and ongoing operations. Whether it's a greenfield product or a system that needs rescuing, I bring hands-on engineering depth and strategic clarity in the same package — and make sure what ships actually moves the needle.

The modern AI stack — LLM integrations, RAG pipelines, agentic workflows — is native territory, not a recent addition. I architect systems around these capabilities and help teams adopt them in ways that change how they actually work.

Discovery & Planning

System Architecture

Full-Stack Engineering

Cloud & DevOps

AI & LLM Integration

Team Leadership

Product Thinking

Hiring & Culture

Track record

Where I've Worked

2022 - 2026

Founding Engineer → Head of Technology @ Live It Up

Stood up the DTC wellness brand's entire tech and data stack from day one via Mechanism Ventures — then took over as Head of Technology past $30M ARR to professionalize processes and modernize the stack.

Scaled to $30M+ ARR in under two years
Rebuilt the MarTech data infrastructure: server-side GTM (Stape), Fivetran, AWS RDS, and Metabase
Led CRO and retention initiatives through platform and product improvements
Shipped custom Shopify apps; hired and led engineers and contractors across teams

ShopifyE-CommerceMarTechTeam Leadership

2019 - 2024

VP of Engineering @ Mechanism Ventures

Ran engineering across the venture studio's portfolio — the umbrella behind Live It Up and more — owning engineering and product processes, architecture, and hiring from 2019 to 2024.

Grew the engineering team to 15 through hiring and acquisitions
Architected highly available, auto-scaling AWS infrastructure (ECS, RDS, CloudFormation) serving six-figure daily active users
Mentored engineers from junior to director level; set engineering and product processes across portfolio companies
Established MarTech strategies and data acquisition pipelines that improved decision-making portfolio-wide

VP of EngineeringVenture StudioAWSTeam Leadership

2019 - 2022

Founding Engineer & Architect @ Bold.org

Founding engineer and architect of the #1 scholarship platform fighting student debt — now trusted by millions.

$43M+ in scholarships awarded
Stood up the platform end-to-end: architecture, tech stack, development processes, and infrastructure
Scaled from zero to a product backed by names like Dwyane Wade and Imagine Dragons

SOA0→1AWSNode.jsPostgreSQL

2015 - 2019

Technical Account Manager → Head of Developer Vertical & Talent Ops @ Toptal

Grew from technical account manager to running the developer vertical and talent operations at one of the world's largest fully remote companies.

Led a team of 100+ supporting several thousand network talents
Managed hiring, onboarding, and performance of core team members, including leadership roles
Product Owner for internal tools and process improvement initiatives
Partnered with Product, Sales, and Analytics to significantly improve operational efficiency

Talent OperationsTeam LeadershipRemoteScale

2012 - 2015

Backend Developer → Head of Engineering @ Farmeron

VC-funded agritech startup where I grew from backend developer to Head of Engineering in three years — acquired by Virtus Nutrition in 2017.

Backend developer to Head of Engineering in three years
Scaled the engineering team by 10 in under two years while establishing technical processes and culture
Architected and delivered core features of a platform serving hundreds of enterprise clients

Enterprise SaaSAgritechAcquired 2017Team Leadership

Need this kind of ownership on your team? → How I engage

Working together

How I engage

Depending on what the situation calls for, I operate in one of four modes. The depth of involvement changes — the standards don't.

Senior Dev

Task execution

Part-time · project-based

Pure execution mode. Feature development, code reviews, refactoring, module architecture — senior-level output on work you define and scope.

What you get

Execution without noise or hand-holding
Work that holds up after I'm gone

Head of Tech

Technical leadership & architecture

Part-time · ongoing

Technical direction is mine to own — architecture, stack decisions, engineering standards, team development. You set the business goals; I figure out how tech gets you there.

What you get

Technical decisions that actually get made
A team that understands what it's building and why

Most aligned

Fractional CTO

Technical strategy & organisation

Fractional · part-time CTO

The full CTO surface area — strategy, roadmap, org, technical narrative — without the full-time seat. I run the tech function; you run the company.

What you get

Real CTO accountability, not advisory theatre
A clear answer to what to build, how, and who builds it
The tech agenda gets driven, not just managed

Co-Founding CTO

Co-founder partnership

Full-time · equity-based

All in from day one. Technical direction, team, product — this is a co-founder relationship, not an arrangement.

What you get

A technical co-founder with skin in the game
Business-first thinking that runs on deep technical expertise

Current availability

Available part-time for new engagements

Currently open for part-time engagements. If you have a project in mind or just want to think through your tech direction — reach out and let's talk.

Let's talk

If it's not obvious which fits, that's what the first conversation is for.

Off the clock & on the side

What I've Built

live

Fiscalize.shop

2025 - Present

Native Shopify app for Croatian fiscalization — registers paid orders with the Tax Authority, issues JIR/ZKI codes and QR-coded PDF invoices, and handles cancellations and accounting exports. Built ahead of the Fiskalizacija 2.0 mandate; live on the Shopify App Store.

Shopify AppFiscalizationSaaS

wip

Suplementor.io

2026

Agent-first supplement intelligence: 200k+ formulations extracted, normalized, and verified against clinical literature — served to AI agents and developers through a per-call x402 micropayment API. Premarket.

AI AgentsData Platformx402 API

live

MSMechanic.hr

2024 - Present

More business than code: products, positioning, pricing, B2B sales, procurement, and P&L for a family-run Croatian bike-care brand — plus the Shopify storefront. Official mechanics of the KMC Ridley MTB Racing Team; the EU payments setup became a blog post.

Business StrategyE-CommerceB2BP&L

live

OCR Croatia

2023 - Present

Founding member of Croatia's first Obstacle Course Racing association. Built the website, set up internal operations, and helped organize multiple races and events — including national championships in partnership with Spartan Race. A passion project where leadership, logistics, and tech came together off the keyboard.

SportsOperationsCommunityEvent Management

$ powercalculator

archived

PowerCalculator

2010

Scientific calculator for Symbian phones — the most advanced on the platform at the time. College-era proof that shipping to real users beats toy projects.

SymbianMobileCollege Project

Your Project, Next

15+ years of building, shipping, and scaling — from college side projects to $30M+ platforms. If you need an architect, builder, and operator who owns the full journey from first question to production, let's talk.

ConsultingFractional CTOGetting Sh*t Done

Let's Talk

Contact

Get in Touch

Prefer reaching out directly? Send me an email or connect on social media. I am always open to discussing new projects, collaborations, or opportunities.

/in/lukahorvat

GitHub

/lukahorvatt