ACCEPTING NEW ENGAGEMENTS
Building smarter systems for companies that need to scale.
Consulting, advisory, and creative technology practice. Enterprise readiness, compliance, AI strategy, and workflow automation — built by someone who thinks in workflows, not outputs.
15 years delivering for
Services
Three pillars. One practice.
Most engagements touch more than one pillar. A SOC 2 project surfaces automation needs. An AI strategy engagement requires security infrastructure first. It's all connected.
hover a node · click for the full list
Systems & Operations
"From startup scrappy to enterprise ready."
- Enterprise Readiness & IT Infrastructure
- SOC 2 Compliance Advisory
- Compliance Automation & Internal Tooling
- Okta Workflows Architecture
- Make / n8n Integration Architecture
AI & Creative Technology
"Where deep expertise meets AI architecture."
- Generative AI Workflow Architecture
- AI Strategy & Advisory
- AI-Powered Solutions Building
Content & Creative Workflows
"Systems that create at scale."
- Content Automation Pipelines
- AI Creative Workflow Architecture
- Content Production (On Request)
Flexible engagement models
Every engagement includes a live client dashboard, full cost transparency, and no surprise invoices.
Hourly Consulting
Defined projects & advisory
Project-Based
Fixed scope, fixed price
Retainer
Fractional leadership
Philosophy
Five principles,
in practice.
These aren't slogans — each one opens into how it actually works.
01
Solve the problem, not sell the tool.
Free tools over paid ones when they meet the requirement. Enterprise-credible, not enterprise-expensive.
AI collapsed the cost of custom software. Problems that used to mean five-figure licenses now mean a focused build on infrastructure you own — and you keep it when I leave.
02
Defensible over aspirational.
Every claim reflects current reality, not future plans. Overclaiming is the biggest risk a startup faces.
Enterprise buyers and auditors verify what you say. Only what survives the filter goes on your site, in your deck, or into a questionnaire answer.
03
Empower companies to support themselves.
The goal is independence, not dependence. I build in your systems. You own it.
I tell you when you're ready to graduate — my involvement tapers as your ownership grows.
04
Policy without operations is just paper.
I write the policies AND build the automated systems that enforce them.
The loop is what auditors sign off on: every policy has a control enforcing it, monitoring watching it, and evidence proving it — feeding back into the policy.
05
Trusted advisor for services not in scope.
When work belongs with a lawyer, pen test firm, or other specialist, I'll tell you — broker the intro and stay engaged to make sure the handoff goes right.
You get the right specialist, not a generalist stretching — and I stay in the room so nothing falls between the seams.
"I speak the language of C-suite executives, engineers, creatives, project managers, and compliance auditors. Few people can bridge all of these worlds."
Meet Derek The person behind the systems — 15 years in media, 9+ building enterprise operations. → Proof
Results, not promises.
0%
SOC 2 Type II compliance
Zero exceptions on inaugural audit
$0K
Security compliance readiness
Delivered for an AI startup
0 hrs
Total delivery time
3 policies, 2 questionnaires, automation
0+
Workflow automations
In production (Okta)
0+ yrs
Building & scaling
Through two acquisitions
A recent Build + Operate engagement, by the numbers
First 30 days: every foundation commitment delivered, plus one later-phase system pulled forward.
Security compliance readiness — cost
Typical = readiness consulting + compliance-platform licensing, published 2026 ranges
Time to a working foundation
4 of 4 committed deliverables shipped in 30 days · typical = published readiness timelines
0
days
to a working foundation
0
controls mapped
across all 5 Trust Services Criteria
0
auditor test procedures
pre-mapped in the readiness tracker
$0
new software licenses
built on tools the client already owned
Why DEK Digital, not a big firm?
Traditional Consultancy
- ✕ Scopes a $50K+ engagement
- ✕ Delivers a 200-page report
- ✕ Recommends tools requiring a team
- ✕ Wants a 12-month retainer
- ✕ Writes policies; you operationalize
DEK Digital
- ✓ $15K gets compliance readiness moving — with working systems
- ✓ Delivers signed policies and working automation
- ✓ Builds on tools you already have
- ✓ Tells you when you're ready to graduate
- ✓ Writes policies AND builds enforcement systems
What people say
"We aren't here today without you. PERIOD."
— Andrew Pidcock
Head of AI Innovation & Post Production
"No doubt in my mind that the company wouldn't have grown to the success it has without the infrastructure you single-handedly built from the ground up."
— Brad Howell
Director & Supervising Editor
"An absolute legend. Thank you for always pushing us to think of new ways to handle projects, leverage new technologies and giving us the confidence to handle even the biggest issues."
— Former Colleague
"You shaped the culture, the work, and honestly the people more than you probably realize. We're better because of you."
— Ashley Hooper
Account Manager
"Anyone you work with will be lucky to have you."
— Former Colleague
"A leader who has had an outsized impact over nine+ years... laid the foundation that allows our teams to move fast and deliver at the highest standard."
— Former Co-CEO
AI-Powered Fashion Agency
Security compliance readiness · Hourly engagement · Pre-Series A · ~15 employees
The Challenge
Gaining traction with major enterprise clients but had virtually zero formal security posture. Deals with global apparel holding companies and luxury beauty brands were at risk.
Delivered
- ✓ Full security posture assessment & roadmap
- ✓ 3 signed security policies + 1 privacy policy
- ✓ 2 enterprise vendor questionnaires completed
- ✓ Automated incident reporting with breach notification
- ✓ Vendor management registrar with auto-alerting
- ✓ Infrastructure documentation & architecture diagrams
- ✓ Tabletop incident response exercise
$15,262
Total investment
82.5 hrs
Total delivery time
$50K+
Big 4 equivalent
AI-Powered Fashion Agency: Build + Operate
Fractional IT, security & automation leadership on retainer · the first 30 days of a 90-day SOW
The Challenge
Readiness opened the enterprise conversations — then the team needed the day-to-day reality: user onboarding and offboarding, IT support, SOC 2 execution, and access controls, without hiring an internal IT function.
Delivered in the first 30 days
- ✓ SOC 2 readiness tracker — ~127 mapped controls, 62 auditor test procedures, evidence library & risk register
- ✓ Automated user onboarding & offboarding with a full audit trail — built on tools the client already owned
- ✓ Custom IT ticketing system in Slack — threaded tickets, approvals, searchable log
- ✓ Website privacy policy — benchmarked, counsel-ready draft
- ✓ Client workspace & access-control automation with 90-day access reviews — a later-phase item, pulled forward
- ✓ Weekly status syncs + day-to-day IT support throughout
~$10.7K
First 30 days, at the contracted day rate
4 of 4
Commitments delivered — plus one pulled forward
$30K+
Typical agency estimate, same builds
Typical = published agency rates for comparable custom internal tooling + managed IT support
Contact
Let's build something.
Whether you need a security posture assessment, AI strategy, or systems that actually work — let's talk.
Prefer to talk live?
Book a free introductory call. No pitch, no pressure — just a conversation about what you're facing and whether I can help.
Book a Call