About
James Knight helps founders build Million Dollar MVPs and launch successful startups.
Since leaving Google in 2015 and starting his startup consulting agency, he's grown his company to 10+ nerds across 4 different countries, been featured in Bloomberg, and helped more than 25 companies launch their MVPs and raise a combined $650M in fundraising.
James has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics, with a minor in Psychology, and studied for his Masters in Computer Science at Georgia Tech. Before Google, he started his career in robotics at Romotive (now Zipline).
James has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics, with a minor in Psychology, and studied for his Masters in Computer Science at Georgia Tech. Before Google, he started his career in robotics at Romotive (now Zipline).
Past Customers
Stationhead | 2019 - Present
Senior Contract Android Engineer
No Nerds No Problem | 2018 - Present
Founder
Gradient Partners | 2015 - 2018
Partner
Google, Inc. | May 2013 - 2015
Customer Solutions Engineer
Emberi Co. | Nov 2012 - 2013
Founder
Romotive, Inc. | Oct 2011 - Nov 2012
Software Engineer
2XL Games | Feb 2010 - Oct 2011
Junior Programmer
Senior Contract Android Engineer
No Nerds No Problem | 2018 - Present
Founder
Gradient Partners | 2015 - 2018
Partner
Google, Inc. | May 2013 - 2015
Customer Solutions Engineer
Emberi Co. | Nov 2012 - 2013
Founder
Romotive, Inc. | Oct 2011 - Nov 2012
Software Engineer
2XL Games | Feb 2010 - Oct 2011
Junior Programmer
Projects & Accomplishments
- Emberi: To the Trade
- Worked alongside Sam Kaufman to develop this application for a client here in New York.
- Developed the initial version of the application, including the UI, data models and backup functionality, and sharing system.
- http://www.tothetradeapp.com/
- Google: Single View of the User
- Provided hands-on consulting and engineering services to enable advertisers to segment and target customers based on their interests and purchase history.
- Organized and led "Lua," a cross-functional team of Solutions Engineers, Account Managers, Technical Consultants and Product Experts to scale these engagements across the Telecom, Banking, and Insurance industries.
- Designed and led global training sessions to scale the project to our European and Asian teams.
- Supported over $35M in incremental revenue since Q2 2014, from clients such as JPMorgan Chase, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon Wireless.
- Romotive: iOS Native Networking and A/V Library (Romo v2)
- Designed and developed Romotive's networking and service stack, as well as our A/V encoding, decoding, and transmission stack.
- Capable of transmitting the highest level of H.264 encoding available at 24 fps across local networks.
- Enabled other developers to seamlessly add services for communicating between the robot and their iOS device.
- Romotive: Cross-platform Networking, Native Audio Data Transfer Library and Android Application (Romo v1)
- Designed and developed a cross-platform, native networking library for use on both iOS and Android.
- Developed a cross-platform audio-based serial data-transfer protocol which used a device's audio jack to control our robotics platform.
- Developed Romotive's Android application entirely on my own.
Testimonials
"After three years of other agencies promising a lot but delivering little, getting to test a prototype after just week was very cool. From the first time we sat down, I really felt James got what I was trying to do."
- Andy Lin, Founder @ The Self Portrait Project
"After an entire year of working with another firm, our app just did not work—the core feature was broken and the app drained the battery. James was able to research the problem and find a workable solution in a matter of weeks."
- Andy Lin, Founder @ The Self Portrait Project
"After an entire year of working with another firm, our app just did not work—the core feature was broken and the app drained the battery. James was able to research the problem and find a workable solution in a matter of weeks."
- Lachie Given, Founder @ Knowhere
"James and his team stepped in at a critical moment in Wellness 4 Humanity's trajectory and delivered exactly what we needed to hit our deadlines and expand the public's access to quick and easy COVID testing. Without them, the launches of our national vending machine network and our flagship New York clinic would not have been the successes they were."
- Lian Pham, Founder @ Wellness 4 Humanity
"Before we started James's process, I wasn’t sure it would be worth it. Having gone through it, I can’t imagine it going any other way.
James and his team really went deep—from the first days I felt like they fully understood the problem I was trying to solve and I learned a lot about what I was trying to build. 100% worth the cost."
- Sachin Gulaya, CEO @ Alpine Vapors
"James understands what it means to work with a startup where every dollar counts. Thanks to him, we were able to bring our products to market much faster than we could have ourselves."
- Matt Ivester, Founder @ A Rad Corp
- Sachin Gulaya, CEO @ Alpine Vapors
"James understands what it means to work with a startup where every dollar counts. Thanks to him, we were able to bring our products to market much faster than we could have ourselves."
- Matt Ivester, Founder @ A Rad Corp
"James excels at distilling complex concepts down into formats that make sense to non-technical audiences. He has built strong relationships with both internal and external clients, and has been viewed as a trusted technical partner on multiple occasions."
- Peter Leonard (Manager, Dedicated Ads Solutions, Multi-Channel Sales)
"James knows his stuff and can communicate that knowledge efficiently to clients. He has been critical to a very large, ongoing project with Chase to revamp the way they approach search. His know-how and availability to jump on ongoing calls, meet in person with clients, and present at business reviews has been a huge part in this project getting pushed forward."
- Jon Arp (Account Manager, Finance — Google)
"James has a strong command of the ways our various products work together and what might be causing them not to work well together. He has great client presence (on phone and in writing) and has been able to help us break new ground at Cox and TWC."
- Katherine Westgate (Head of Industry, Telecom — Google)
"James excels at managing customers' expectation levels early, consistently (and successfully) avoiding "selling the dream, but servicing the nightmare". His work in support of both external and internal teams is highly commendable."
- Rick Smith (Account Executive, Telecom — Google)
Education
Georgia Institute of Technology 2014, Graduate Studies in Computer Science
Arizona State University 2012, B.A. Mathematics
Arizona State University 2012, B.A. Mathematics
Hobbies
My primary hobby is hanging out with my wife and our two dogs. We live across the street from Central Park, and try to spend as much time there as we can.
My second biggest hobby is wine. I'm currently studying for my Level 2 Sommelier certification, and love everything about the history, geography, production, and marketing of the stuff. I've also heard it tastes pretty good.
Hobby number three would be music. My wife and I both play several instruments and sing, and we like to spend a couple hours a week playing and singing songs that we enjoy.
Finally, fitness is a huge hobby of mine as well. I've spent most of my life training for some event or another (currently its the NY triathlon), and its very important to me that I keep myself in proper shape.