// 1:1 coaching for vibe coders, by a senior engineer

Your vibe-coded app
shouldn't ship itself.

Fifteen years building production systems. Staff engineer, ex-EM, ex-startup-scaling-survivor. Now I help non-technical builders turn their vibe-coded prototypes into something they actually trust in production — and learn enough to keep building without me.

$ book free intro call →$ man vibe-advisor
# 30 min · no pitch · bring your messiest repo
~/your-app — zsh
$_
// about/coach.md
const
coach = {
name: 'alex m.',
yearsCoding: 15,
roles: ['senior', 'staff', 'EM (briefly)'],
loves: 'teaching juniors to fly',
currentlyAt: 'a beach somewhere',
engineersMentored: 40,
};

Fifteen years writing code.
Five teaching juniors to fly.

The work that lit me up was always the quiet hour with a junior — watching the moment a concept clicked. That's the work I want to do now, full-time, with you.

Vibe coding is just pair programming with a fast, overconfident intern. I'll show you how to be the senior in the room.

15+
years shipping
40+
engineers mentored
∞
patience for q's
// curriculum — two tracks, mix freely

Things we can actually work on.

Most people end up doing some of both — launch the thing, and learn how to keep building it.

TRACK A
./launch-ready.sh
Get your app launch-ready.
For when you have a working prototype and need it to actually run in production — safely, fast, and observably.
01
◉
// observe.metrics
See how your site is actually doing
Error monitoring, uptime, the slow query and the heavy bundle. Stop guessing whether it's holding up — measure it.
02
↗
// product.signal
See if users are actually finding value
Funnels, retention, feature adoption. The metrics that tell you what to build next — not just what's breaking.
03
🛡
// security.audit
Make your site harder to hack
Auth, secrets, input validation, rate limits. The security 80/20 that vibe-coded apps almost always skip.
04
⚙
// ops.tooling
Build the boring internal tools
Admin panels, support workflows, the unglamorous stuff that turns a hobby project into a business. Most vibe-coded apps don't realize they need this until they're drowning in support tickets.
05
$
// stack.free-tier
Pick the free-tier SaaS that’s actually good
Vercel, Supabase, Resend, Sentry, Clerk, Plausible — what to pick, what to avoid, how to glue them together.
TRACK B
./vibe-skills.sh
Level up your vibe coding skills.
For when you want to stop guessing and start working with AI like a senior engineer would.
01
⚡
// tools.config
Make your AI tools work better
Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot — set them up so they actually understand your repo, your style, your stack.
02
◆
// prompt.craft
Prompt more effectively
Stop arguing with the model. Learn the patterns senior engineers use to get the right output the first time.
03
⚠
// debug.flow
Debug more efficiently
Read the stack trace. Bisect the change. Stop pasting the whole file at the model and praying. There's a method.
04
✓
// code.quality
Write code that lasts
Naming, structure, abstraction — the boring stuff that makes your codebase still legible six months from now.
05
⏎
// workflow.cya
Build workflows that CYA
Branch hygiene, commit discipline, automated checks. So when AI does something weird, you can roll back instantly.
$ something else on your mind? // these aren’t exhaustive — bring whatever’s actually breaking$ tell me about it →
// ways-to-work.md

How we work together.

Every engagement starts with a free intro call. From there we pick a mix of pair-programming coaching and hands-on contracting — whatever your project actually needs.

STEP 00
FREE
// always start here
30-min intro call.
You explain what you’re building and where it hurts. I give you an honest take on whether I can help, and what mix of coaching vs. hands-on work I’d suggest. No pitch, no pressure.
$ book intro call →
then — pick a path, or blend the two
// PATH A · coaching
Pair programming sessions
Live video sessions on your real codebase. We pair, I watch you work, you level up. You stay in the driver's seat.
SLIDING SCALE · SET ON THE INTRO CALL
solo founderfunded startup
// sliding scale — we calibrate to your situation
+Weekly or biweekly 1hr session
+Custom roadmap, your project
+Async questions in between
+Recordings + follow-up notes
+Cancel any time
$ choose coaching →
// PATH B · contracting / IC
Hands-on, I do the work
Sometimes you don't need a teacher — you need an extra senior engineer. I jump in and ship features, fix bugs, harden things for prod.
SCOPE-DEPENDENT · DISCUSSED ON CALL
solo founderfunded startup
// sliding scale — we calibrate to your situation
+Scoped work or weekly retainer
+PRs in your repo, your standards
+Pairing on tricky bits as we go
+Handoff doc when we’re done
+Async or live, your call
$ choose contracting →
// or both — most engagements end up here
Mix coaching and contracting.
We can do an IC sprint to unblock something gnarly, then go back to coaching once you’re unstuck. Or pair on the hard parts and have you build the rest. We’ll figure out the right blend.
{ A + B }
// pricing.note
Rates are on a sliding scale and we set them on the intro call. Coaching is significantly cheaper than contracting — you're paying for a teacher, not an engineer-for-hire. If you're a solo founder bootstrapping, say so. If you're a funded team, say that too. We'll find a number that works for both of us.
// process.ts

How it works.

01
intro_call()
Free, 30 minutes. You explain. I listen. Honest verdict on whether I can help.
→
02
build_roadmap()
A sequence of small, real wins. Mapped to what you actually want to ship.
→
03
weekly_loop()
We pair on your code. You do the reps. We adjust as you grow.
→
04
ship_and_maintain()
Your app goes live. We shift to a lighter cadence — monthly check-ins, async questions, ad-hoc pairing when something breaks. No long-term contract.
→
// faq.txt

Things people ask.

$ do I need to know how to code?
›
→ No. I work with everyone from total beginners to engineers leveling up their AI workflow. We start exactly where you are.
$ which tools do you teach?
›
→ Claude Code, Cursor, the APIs, plus the connective tissue — git, deploy, databases, basic infra. Tools change, the way of thinking doesn't.
$ how long does it take?
›
→ Some need three sessions. Others stay six months because they like having a senior on call. No fixed program.
$ what if I'm already technical?
›
→ Then we work on what you don't have time to read 80 blog posts about: prompting craft, AI-built architecture, prod-readiness checklists.
// book.sh

Bring me your
messiest repo.

Thirty minutes. No pitch. We'll look at what you have, and figure out together if I'm the right person to help.

email: hello@vibeadvisor.dev
reply: within 24h
tz: wherever I am this week (currently UTC-6)
book.sh