I work with early-stage founders as a part-time co-founder, for 90 days at a time.
Product, design, go-to-market and your first hires. You pay a monthly fee, so you don't have to give up equity.
The aim is simple: get through in three months what usually takes a first-time team a year of trial and error.
About me
Neil Metson, Dubai
I led Product & Design at Careem across Food, Groceries, Shops, DineOut and new ventures. Before that I was UX Director at Lingokids, and worked on digital products at Shell and in BP's digital innovation lab.
I've advised founders at Entrepreneur First and Founders Factory, and co-founded a startup myself, so I know what the founder's side of the table feels like.
Over twenty years I've built products used by millions, from zero to scale, at and alongside:
Why this exists
Most startups don't fail because the idea was bad.
They fail on early decisions: building the wrong thing, building it the wrong way, hiring too soon, spending months on product and go-to-market without a clear direction, or giving away equity before they need to.
Those mistakes are expensive, and most of them are avoidable if someone in the room has made them before. That's the role I take. I'm in the product decisions and the work with you, not advising from a distance.
How the 90 days work
Month one: clarity
We work out what to build before anything gets built.
What you get
- What to build, and what not to
- A clear MVP scope
- Positioning that makes sense to customers
Month two: build
We build it, making the day-to-day calls together.
What you get
- Product strategy and UX direction
- Lean execution decisions
- AI tools set up where they actually save time
Month three: launch
We get it in front of customers and investors.
What you get
- A go-to-market focus
- Onboarding and conversion improvements
- An investor-ready story
We talk for at least an hour every week, and you can reach me on Slack or WhatsApp in between.
What it costs
AED 7,500 a month
Three-month minimum. After that you can stop whenever you like.
For the first six businesses, the first three months are charged as two.
Here's what you'd typically pay each month to hire for the same roles separately:
| Role | Hiring separately | With me |
|---|---|---|
| Part-time CPO and product strategy | AED 22k–37k | Included |
| Product design direction | AED 15k–22k | Included |
| Go-to-market and distribution | AED 11k–18k | Included |
| AI tooling and workflow setup | AED 7k–15k | Included |
| Hiring, team and culture | AED 7k+ | Included |
| Each month | AED 62k–99k+ | AED 7,500 |
If you don't need all of that, I also do advisory work on a custom basis: strategy sessions, product and design reviews, pitch deck feedback, investor introductions and board-level guidance. Email me about it.
Who it suits
Founders who are already building, or about to, and want to move quickly without hiring too early. You'll need to put in the time and the budget, because we do the work together.
It's probably not right if you're still choosing between ideas, if you want advice without doing anything with it, or if you'd like someone to build it for you while you're elsewhere.
Need design more than a co-founder?
I also offer senior product design and AI-assisted app builds for early-stage and family-focused startups in Dubai, on a flat monthly subscription, from AED 3,500 a month. See how Design & build works.
Questions people ask
Why three months minimum?
One month gets you ideas. Three months gets you results.
Why not just hire someone?
Because early hiring mistakes are the most expensive kind. Get the direction right first, then hire for what you actually need.
Isn't it expensive?
It costs less than a junior hire, and you get someone who has done this before. A senior hire would cost several times as much.
Do you take equity?
It's normally a monthly fee, but I'm open to talking about a mix of cash and equity.
From the blog
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Building a parenting or family app in Dubai: what founders get wrong
What founders get wrong when building parenting, family and kids' apps in Dubai, and what to do instead, from a designer who has worked on them.
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Can AI tools really replace a traditional app build?
What AI-assisted app building does well, where it falls short, and how founders can use it to reach real users sooner without wasted builds.
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How a design subscription works (and what to ask for in month one)
How a monthly design subscription works for a startup, how requests run day to day, and what to ask for in your first month.
Ask AI about Metson Ventures.
Get a second opinion. I've written the question; your AI reads this site and answers.
Tell me what you're building.
Book an intro call and we'll work out whether this is a fit. I review new founders every week, and I don't take on everyone.
You can also email hello@metsonventures.com or message me on WhatsApp.