Build Software That Works
Introduction
Engineering leadership and hands-on execution. We build sustainable systems and help you ship them.
Just what works.
Our Services
We offer strategic guidance and hands-on implementation to help your team succeed.
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Engineering Leadership
Scale your technical organization or provide interim leadership when you need it. We offer fractional CTO services, hands-on team building, and strategic guidance to help your engineering function grow sustainably.
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Operational Excellence
Transform operational chaos into sustainable systems. We design and implement practical processes for incident management, vendor coordination, and cross-functional collaboration—then help you execute the improvements.
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Technical Strategy
Understand what you're working with and where the real risks are. We assess your current technical landscape, evaluate proposed changes, and help you make informed decisions without pushing unnecessary rewrites or complexity.
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Implementation & Delivery
Need to validate an idea quickly? We build AI-assisted MVPs and prototypes to test concepts and demonstrate value, or help you build full-scale production systems.
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Security & Compliance
Navigate GDPR, data protection, and security requirements without drowning in overhead. We help you build compliant systems that protect your customers while staying practical and maintainable for your team.
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Operations & Observability
Keep your systems running reliably. We design monitoring, alerting, and incident response processes that catch problems early and help you learn from incidents—without creating on-call burnout.
About
I'm Lauri Paloahde, the founder of Alku Works and I've spent a quarter of a century building and scaling B2B SaaS companies, most recently as VP of Technology at Naveo Commerce. I've done the full journey from developer to executive leadership, which means I understand how technical decisions play out across the entire organization.
I've scaled engineering teams, managed vendor ecosystems across multiple countries, navigated European compliance requirements, and kept operations running through organizational changes and crises. I know what it takes to build systems that scale sustainably — and what breaks when you try to grow too fast.
How I Work
I'm Finnish, which means I'm direct. I tell you what I actually think, not what sounds good in a presentation. I focus on making things work for you and your team, not implementing frameworks for the sake of it. My colleagues & clients call me "the humane process guy" because I build operational systems that help teams succeed rather than creating bureaucracy. If you need someone who can both design the strategy and help execute it, we'll probably work well together.
Approach & Values
I believe in sustainable growth over heroics, servant leadership over command-and-control, and practical solutions over perfect architecture. I take on a limited number of clients so I can deliver real value rather than spreading myself thin. Most engagements start with a focused assessment to make sure we're solving the right problems before committing to longer-term work.
Contact
Get in touch to discuss how we can help your business succeed.