Hi, I'm Danny Franklin - Founder and CTO at Lightning Rod Labs
I thrive when untangling complex technical puzzles that keep others up at night. My energy comes from building elegant, scalable systems from the ground up, fueled by a relentless desire to push boundaries.
At a glance
Curated signals on strengths, focus areas, and how they can help.
Developed deep technical architectural expertise through years of engineering leadership roles prior to founding their own venture.
Currently serving as Founder and CTO at Lightning Rod Labs where they lead high-stakes innovation in complex systems.
Provides high-value strategic guidance on scaling engineering teams and navigating the technical hurdles of early-stage startups.
🚀 Career trajectory
The Academic Foundation
Built a rigorous technical base with a Computer Science M.S. from Stanford.
✦ Stanford CS
✦ Research
The Big Tech Era
Deepened engineering skills within high-scale production environments at Google.
✦ Software Engineering
✦ Scalability
The Entrepreneurial Pivot
Transitioned into ecosystem support and mentorship within the Web3 and accelerator spaces.
✦ Web3
✦ Mentorship
✦ Founder-Mindset
💪🏻 Superpowers
Technical Architecture Architect
Engineering robust solutions for complex system problems
✦ Architected scalable infrastructure during tenure at Google
✦ Applied machine learning and algorithmic expertise to solve software bottlenecks
Venture Ecosystem Catalyst
Bridging academia and startups through deep-tech mentorship
✦ Advised emerging companies on technical viability at Algorand Accelerator
✦ Guided Web3 innovators through growth and development cycles
Strategy-First Developer
Merging agile project management with development excellence
✦ Led cross-functional development lifecycles using agile frameworks
✦ Translated complex technical requirements into high-impact product features
I'm excited about
✦ Exploring cutting-edge opportunities to apply technical leadership in new environments.
✦ Connecting with fellow builders to push the boundaries of current software paradigms.
✦ Identifying high-potential projects where I can contribute as an advisor or leader.
I can help with
✦ Providing technical audits for early-stage startup architectures and roadmaps.
✦ Mentoring engineering teams on scalable development practices and agile workflows.
✦ Advising on the integration of machine learning into complex software products.
I would love your help on
✦ Gaining insights into the current landscape of emerging deep-tech and AI ventures.
✦ Networking with other founders or CTOs currently navigating early-stage growth.
✦ Learning about new methodologies for scaling teams in fast-paced startup environments.