Do you need to share or publish sensitive data, but are hindered by compliance or privacy barriers? Are you considering using anonymization or synthetic data technology, but unsure how to quantify its real-world risk? Do you want to understand more about privacy-enhancing technology to inform your data strategy and roadmap?

I can help! And I can do so much more directly than ever before. Because today, I'm launching Hiding Nemo, an independent consultancy focused on helping organizations do more with data in a safe, compliant, and deeply respectful way.

Check out the website for more information, keep reading this blog post for more context about this move, or drop everything and send me an email to tell me about your use case and find some time to discuss!

Why me?

I have extensive experience with privacy-enhancing technology. I built software platforms and end-to-end solutions, designed anonymization strategies for privacy-critical projects, trained hundreds of engineers and decision-makers, reviewed product launches, wrote technical policies, and more. I worked with large companies and small startups, delivered talks to engineers and regulators, written award-winning scientific papers and widely-praised introductory material.

Besides these credentials, I'm also known for being rigorous and honest. If I tell you that I can solve your use case, you can expect solid work that will stand the test of time, and that you will be able to defend to stakeholders and data protection regulators. If there are fundamental trade-offs that limit what I can do, or challenges that might put your project at risk, I will be open about them and help you make informed decisions.

Finally, throughout my career, I've always strived to help others gain expertise and confidence. I excel at breaking down complicated topics and helping people understand nuanced trade-offs. So hiring me is also an investment in upskilling your team: if I collaborate with you and your colleagues, you can expect to learn along the way and gain the ability to tackle similar problems in the future with less outside help.

Why consulting?

The primary goal of my career so far has been helping organizations ship technology that deeply respects the people impacted by it. A lot of my efforts towards this goal were indirect: designing and building privacy software, training privacy reviewers, writing technical policies… But there's always been a special place in my heart for opportunities to directly influence specific projects.

I thought about creating a product business. In a way, doing so is more ambitious. Make something brand new! Raise money! Hire people! Aim for exponential growth! But pitching a vision and building a product skews one's perspective. It makes it incredibly tempting to think: what problems can I solve with this? This is, of course, the wrong question. It's much better to look at it from the opposite angle: what are the most important problems in my field, and how can I best address them?

I want to find the answer to this question with a fresh eye and an open mind. What do organizations actually need, when it comes to privacy risk analysis and privacy-safe data sharing? I want to want to see what use cases are most important, then address them thoroughly, bringing tangible societal benefits and compelling returns on investment. I hope that consulting will bring both flexibility and variety in what projects I can take on, and I can't wait to learn from this diversity.

Maybe, at some point, I'll get convinced that some of these problems can be solved in a repeatable, scalable way, and want to work on a product again. We'll see!

Why now?

Launching a consulting business requires believing in two hypotheses: there's a demand for this kind of service, and I'm the right person to address it. In both cases, the timing feels right.

Most data protection consultancies on the market today focus on the legal side of things. Few, if any, specialize in privacy-enhancing technology. But even law professionals agree that to develop a solid compliance posture and get ahead of future regulations, investing in privacy technology is key! I'm betting that it translates to a need for independent expertise in the field, without ties to any one product.

The time feels right for me as well. I have a decent professional network, a little bit of name recognition, savings in case it doesn't go well… and I enjoy doing some things that are good for personal marketing, like giving talks and writing blog posts. I certainly have a million things to learn about running a business, but it seems like a good starting point!

Why not AI?

Sigh.

I was told that starting a business in 2025 and not putting AI front and center in its marketing was apparently a little… quaint. I could certainly have tried to jump on the bandwagon. I understand the basics of neural nets and LLMs; I also have a solid grasp on their privacy implications. But that's precisely why I'm not going for that angle. I know too much to try and sell you a "privacy-safe chatbot". I care too much about the impact of my work to build fancy AI tools that look magic but fail to actually improve your business.

Don't get me wrong: I'm happy to put my expertise and rigor at your service if need some help and clarity for a use case involving privacy and AI. I can walk you through the complicated, nuanced issues that arise when deploying AI around sensitive data. I can help you understand the fundamental trade-offs, evaluate potential vendors, generally see through the marketing nonsense, and recommend great people if you need additional help. If that's what you're looking for, hit me up!

I'm also betting that even though the whole industry is very distracted by the new and shiny thing, there's still space for technology that consistently solves real problems. Organizations still need to share or publish trustworthy insights from sensitive data. And they need to make business decisions based on reliable expert advice. AI can do very impressive things, but it can't do consistent, trustworthy, nor reliable. And I can!

What's next?

Check out the Hiding Nemo website, and hit me up if what I offer sounds potentially interesting to you!