Skip to main content

Our Story

Built by an Operator,
for Founders

I've been in your shoes. Now I help ambitious founders avoid the costly mistakes I've seen — and made.

A

Ankit Rana

Founder

AWS Certified15+ YearsSeries A Experience
Connect on LinkedIn

The Short Version

I spent 15+ years building and scaling technology platforms — from payment processors at Deloitte Digital and Elavon (US Bancorp) to startups going through hypergrowth across fintech, healthtech, and proptech. I've led engineering teams from 5 to 50+, navigated Series A due diligence, and seen firsthand what separates startups that scale from those that struggle.

Now I help founders get it right the first time.

Why I Started Codenest

Too many startups fail not because of bad ideas, but because of avoidable mistakes: architecture that doesn't scale, financial models that fall apart under investor scrutiny, technical debt that slows everything down.

I kept seeing the same patterns. Founders who needed senior guidance but couldn't justify a full-time CTO or CFO. Startups that hired dev shops and got code, but not strategy. Companies that raised money but couldn't answer basic questions about unit economics.

Codenest exists to fill that gap. We provide the technical and financial leadership that early-stage startups need — with Big 4 rigour and the empathy of someone who's been in the founder's seat.

What I Believe

  • Build it right the first time. Technical debt is a tax on every future decision. Start with solid foundations.
  • Know your numbers. Great products fail without financial discipline. Understand your unit economics before investors ask.
  • Hire for where you're going. The team that gets you to product-market fit isn't always the team that scales you to Series B.
  • Move fast, but don't break things. Speed matters, but not at the cost of quality. You can have both.

Beyond Advisory

In rare cases, for exceptional opportunities, I consider deeper partnerships — including technical co-founder roles. If you're building something truly ambitious and looking for a committed partner, not just an advisor, let's talk.

The Journey

15+ years of building, breaking, and learning

2011-2015

Enterprise Foundations

Built scalable systems at Deloitte Digital and Elavon (US Bancorp), working on payment processors and financial services platforms. Learned what 'enterprise-grade' really means — and what startups can borrow from it.

2015-2017

Scaling Startups

Led engineering teams from 5 to 50+ engineers across fintech and healthtech. Experienced the chaos of hypergrowth firsthand — the technical debt, the hiring mistakes, the architecture decisions that come back to haunt you.

2017-Present

Codenest

Founded Codenest to provide integrated technical and financial leadership for ambitious founders. Fractional CTO and CFO for startups across fintech, healthtech, proptech, and B2B SaaS — helping them build right and raise successfully.

How We Work

The principles that guide every engagement

Founder-First

Your success is our success. We're not here to rack up billable hours — we're here to make you self-sufficient.

No Fluff

We don't do PowerPoint consulting. Every recommendation comes with implementation. We build alongside you.

Long-Term Thinking

We build systems that scale. No shortcuts that create technical debt. No financial models that fall apart under scrutiny.

Radical Honesty

We'll tell you if your idea won't work. We'll push back on bad decisions. Honest guidance beats comfortable agreement.

Technical & Financial Expertise

Deep experience across the full stack — technology and finance

Cloud & Infrastructure

  • AWS
  • GCP
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • GitOps

Engineering

  • Python
  • Java
  • Node.js
  • React
  • Microservices

Data & AI

  • ML Pipelines
  • LLM Integration
  • Data Engineering
  • Analytics

Financial

  • Financial Modeling
  • FP&A
  • Unit Economics
  • Fundraising

Ready to Talk?

Let's discuss how we can help you build something great.

Schedule a Strategy Call