KAT ERICKSON
RevDateChange
AOct 2026First issue
BOct 2026Seed, services

Startup advisor

Your company is still a sketch.
Let’s make art.

I work with pre-seed and seed founders on the decisions that are cheap to get right early and expensive to fix later: getting a product to market, who you sell to first, how you raise, and which partners matter.

Book a 30-minute call

Led product strategy, partnerships and M&A at DataStax through its acquisition by IBM.
Co‑author of Tech Confidential, a #1 Amazon bestseller.

Idea
Pre-seed
Seed
Series A

Pre-seed

You have a product idea, maybe a prototype, and a few people who believe you. The goal is evidence.

Seed

You have funding and real users. Now success depends on how fast you build, deliver, measure and iterate toward the right product for your market.

  • Getting a product to market. What to build first, what to leave out, and how to launch it.
  • Your first customers. Who they are, how to reach them, and what they need to see to say yes.
  • A go-to-market motion that repeats. Product-led, sales-led, or both, and the pricing that fits.
  • The story for your round. A pitch and deck that hold up when an investor pushes on them.
  • Who to raise from and how much. Angels, funds, accelerators, and the terms that come with each.
  • Partners that matter. Cloud providers and ecosystem partners, without getting lost in them.

Earlier or later than this? Write anyway. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll tell you who is.

“Kat’s feedback was simple and actionable. She shaped our ideas instead of replacing them, and made our deck far easier for a VC to take in.”
Alex Maestretti, CEO, twnstr

Work with me

Intro

30 minutes

Tell me what you’re building, and we’ll see where I can help. It stays between us.

Project work

Scoped to fit

Focused help with a pitch, product strategy, go-to-market or M&A.

Advisor

Ongoing guidance

Someone in your corner as you raise, land early customers and build your brand, with advice and work you can act on.

The easiest way to start is a 30-minute call, or an email to k@terickson.com with your company, your stage and the question on your mind.

Background

I’ve spent my career turning technology into products people buy: from applied research at MITRE to helping lead a data and AI company through its acquisition by IBM.

  • DataStaxCorporate and product strategy, PLG, M&A, investor relations, hyperscaler and ecosystem partnerships
  • Fusion-ioField engineering leader
  • MITRELed applied research on new approaches to large-scale digital forensic analysis
  • Johns HopkinsMS, Security Informatics

In the startup ecosystem

  • Johns Hopkins Technology VenturesMentor, Venture Mentorship Program
  • UC Berkeley & JHUPitch competition judge

Writing and talks

I’m co-author of Tech Confidential, winner of a 2025 Goody Business Book Award and a #1 Amazon bestseller in Workplace Behavior. I also moderate panels at conferences and events.