Melbourne, Australia

Consulting / advisory / speaking
Work together

// DAN FERG — BUILDER / STRATEGIST / OPTIMIST

Technology for problems that actually matter.

I help founders and mission-led teams turn hard product, operational, and community problems into useful software, traction, and a clearer route to market.

OPEN TOConsulting · Product, traction & GTM advisory · Speaking

Explore my work Discuss a project

// PROOF OF WORK

Selected outcomes.

A selection of measurable outcomes. Each links to the work behind it.

  1. community contributions analysed
  2. in new business supported by a bespoke CRM
  3. searchable cattle records
  4. for the first beef release to sell out

01 // SELECTED PROJECTS

Selected work with a job to do.

Current ventures, live client platforms, and formative builds that show how I turn difficult problems into useful systems.

Open project archive
FEATURED_012023–2026Communiti LabsA founder retrospective on turning fragmented community feedback into defensible evidence—and learning why meaningful product impact did not sustain the company.Co-founder / CEO / product / engineeringWound down / retrospectivePROJECT_022026–presentWP FlameA self-hosted performance flight recorder for dynamic WordPress, turning bounded request traces into explainable evidence—and a focused commercial software business.Founder / product / engineeringPre-release / design partnersPROJECT_032022–presentFerguson LivestockA Murray Grey cattle stud and farm-direct beef venture built in Snake Valley, combining farm operations, decision-support software, brand, commerce, and fulfilment.Co-founder / operations / brand / product & engineeringActive venturePROJECT_042020–presentHelping GroupA social-impact organisation born during Australia's Black Summer, creating practical digital services that help communities respond, connect, and recover together.Founder / president / engineeringActive initiativePROJECT_052026Murray Grey AusA purpose-built digital home and herd book for Murray Grey breeders, replacing fragile WordPress infrastructure with a fast, field-ready platform.Product design / full-stack engineeringLive client platformPROJECT_062026SlipspireAn original, swipe-driven ice-sliding puzzle game for mobile—built as a creative reset and a return to the game mechanics that first drew me into computer science.Solo creator / game design / engineering / art directionUnreleased / active development

02 // ARTICLES

Notes from making things.

Writing about entrepreneurship, burnout, software decisions, and the lessons that only turn up once you start.

Read every article
  1. Could a guitar pedal club work?My dad’s pedal-trading habit led me to ask whether a subscription library could work—and whether buying and selling is part of the fun.24 Aug 202610 min read
  2. When doing nothing starts to feel wrong.After years of turning pressure into action, I'm wondering whether my trouble enjoying games and doing nothing is part of burnout, or a deeper dependence on being useful.11 Aug 202610 min read
  3. I went looking for Pydantic in RustI went looking for a Rust equivalent to Pydantic and found a more interesting answer: Rust changes where validation lives.20 July 20268 min read
  4. Your houseplants don't need Wi-Fi.What a plant-monitoring project taught me about designing connected devices around the physical problem instead of assuming every sensor belongs on the internet.18 July 202614 min read
  5. AI belongs in the learning loop.A first-principles sketch of how AI might support durable learning, personalised practice and better teacher insight—without becoming an answer machine.17 July 202614 min read
  6. Democracy doesn't need another survey. It needs a feedback loop.Survey fatigue is partly a burden problem. The deeper failure is that institutions keep improving how they ask for input without explaining what happened next.17 July 202610 min read

03 // WORK HISTORY

A career spent making useful things.

From public-interest data platforms to startups and disaster-response services, the through-line is simple: use technology to make hard, human problems easier to act on.

View the full LinkedIn profile

  1. Chief Executive Officer @ Communiti Labs

    Built analysis and engagement tools that helped practitioners turn community contributions into evidence, insight, and better decisions.

    • PRODUCT
    • COMMUNITY
    • AI + ANALYSIS

  2. President @ Helping Group

    Founded a digital-first charity after the 2020 bushfires, creating practical services that connect people with support before, during, and after disasters.

    • SOCIAL IMPACT
    • LEADERSHIP
    • DISASTER RESPONSE

  3. Consultant @ Chepstowe Consulting

    Designed bespoke systems for insurance and wealth-management clients, including a CRM supporting more than $10M in new business.

    • CONSULTING
    • SYSTEMS
    • DELIVERY

  4. Digital Performance Manager / Analyst @ Aon

    Progressed from digital analysis into performance management, using data and systems to improve digital operations and decision-making.

    • ANALYTICS
    • PERFORMANCE
    • OPERATIONS

  5. Head of Technology @ Imperial Wealth

    Led designers and developers, united four business units behind one client entry point, and built software for international crypto-mining operations.

    • TECHNOLOGY
    • TEAM LEAD
    • PLATFORMS

  6. Full Stack Developer @ CeRDI

    Built data pipelines, knowledge portals, and spatial tools for environmental monitoring, regional collaboration, and family-violence response.

    • DATA
    • FULL STACK
    • PUBLIC INTEREST

04 // SPEAKING & PODCASTS

Ideas, spoken aloud.

Recent conversations and selected talks about community engagement, responsible AI, entrepreneurship, product building, and leadership.

Watch and listen
  1. When Things Don't Go To PlanAn unguarded conversation with Becky Hirst about winding down Communiti Labs, whether engagement is consequential enough, accountability, regional councils, and where the sector needs to innovate next.13 Aug 2026Podcast
  2. When Digital FailsWith Becky Hirst and Darius Turner, exploring digital-by-default engagement, face-to-face practice, what reach really means, AI benchmarking, and what comes after Communiti Labs.26 July 2026Podcast
  3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) In The RoomA conversation with Becky Hirst and Lisa Ippolito about responsible AI in local government, capability building, synthetic audiences, authentication, and using technology to make engagement more human.24 June 2026Podcast
  4. Has Community Engagement Stopped Being Bold?Becky Hirst, Mel Hagedorn and I ask whether community engagement has lost its boldness—and what it would take to move beyond surveys, data collection, and engagement theatre.31 May 2026Podcast
  5. Building a business in an hour... with no code!A practical walkthrough of using no-code tools to build a digital-facing business quickly.18 Aug 2022Entrepreneurship
  6. Concept to ProductionThe five steps I use to take startup ideas from a rough concept to a product people can use.03 May 2022Entrepreneurship
  7. SwinLead Leadership WorkshopAn honest discussion about the experiences, challenges, and successes of leading student communities.13 Apr 2022Leadership

// CONSULTING / ADVISORY / SPEAKING

Bring me the useful problem that refuses to fit in a neat box.

Consulting when something needs building, advisory across product, traction and GTM, and practical speaking for teams working through change.

gday@danferg.com