Strategic adviser to technology CEOs

A seasoned operator for the decisions you cannot fully debate inside the company.

I help CEOs of engineering-led technology companies think through commercialization, global expansion, capital, M&A, and consequential changes in direction.

Four decades as a founder, CEO, and senior operator—from early-stage companies to a NASDAQ IPO—brought to a small number of ongoing advisory relationships.

Portrait of Hamid Farzaneh
40+ yearsBuilding and leading technology companies across multiple cycles
$50M+Raised at DisplayLink, including through the 2008 downturn
65%+Market share built at Genesis Microchip before its NASDAQ IPO
3–5 CEOsMaximum number of direct advisory relationships at one time
When CEOs call me

The question is rarely simple. The decision still has to be made.

My role is to help you expose assumptions, see the second-order consequences, and move from a difficult strategic question to a decision you can act on.

01 / COMMERCIALIZATION

“The technology works. Why is the market still not responding?”

Clarify the customer problem, sharpen positioning, rethink channels, and turn technical differentiation into commercial value.

02 / US EXPANSION

“Are we ready for the US—or about to spend heavily learning the wrong lessons?”

Pressure-test the entry thesis, target market, partnerships, leadership needs, and the sequence of investments.

03 / CAPITAL & M&A

“Should we raise, acquire, sell, or keep building independently?”

Separate optionality from distraction and prepare the company, narrative, and leadership team for the path you choose.

04 / CHANGE IN DIRECTION

“I think the strategy needs to change. How do I test that before I unsettle the organization?”

Explore the uncomfortable what-ifs privately, then translate the decision into a sequence your board and team can absorb.


Who I advise

Built for CEOs carrying the whole decision.

The strongest fit is usually an engineering-led B2B technology company with real traction and a consequential transition ahead.

Typical company stage

Generally $3M–$100M in revenue: established enough that decisions have meaningful consequences, still agile enough that the right decision can change the trajectory.

  • You are an expert in your market or technology.You want a peer who brings pattern recognition from outside your niche.
  • The issue crosses functional boundaries.It cannot be delegated cleanly to sales, product, finance, or engineering.
  • You need candor without organizational consequences.You want to think out loud before involving the board, team, or investors.
  • You value operating judgment over a prescribed framework.You want questions, challenge, and practical follow-through—not a report that disappears.
  • You want continuity.The work is most valuable when context compounds through a regular relationship.
Current advisory relationship

Tritem Microsystems

Advising the CEO of this German-Polish hardware-in-the-loop testing company since 2023. The work spans US market entry, positioning, key-account defense, new-vertical discovery, partnerships, and M&A readiness.

He doesn't just analyze; he translates complex offerings into clear value propositions that resonate with the right customers and partners... Working with him feels less like hiring an advisor and more like gaining a co-architect of your strategy: someone who challenges assumptions, accelerates decisions, and stays focused on what actually drives results.

Thad Halaczek, CEO, Tritem Microsystems

Operator experience

I have sat in the seat I now advise from.

I have made decisions with my own company, payroll, investors, and board on the line—through booms, downturns, restructurings, fundraising, an IPO, and an acquisition.

  1. Founder

    Started two companies in my native Iran by age 28, working with companies in Japan, Germany, France, and the United States before rebuilding my career in Silicon Valley after the Iranian revolution.

  2. Genesis Microchip

    As VP of Sales and Marketing and later COO, helped refocus an engineering-driven company toward high-growth display markets, built more than 65% market share, and took the company public on NASDAQ in 1998.

  3. DisplayLink

    As President and CEO, raised more than $50 million—including during the 2008 downturn—and grew the company into the dominant global supplier of network display chips.

  4. Varioptic

    As CEO, streamlined a ten-year-old liquid-lens technology company and sold it to publicly traded Parrot S.A., while founding Optilux to pursue mobile applications.

  5. Multiple ventures

    Co-founded Sensoplex and Alea Labs, leading both as CEO (Alea for eight years), and served as COO of augmented-reality pioneer Atheer Labs.

  6. The common thread

    Turning strong engineering and ambiguous commercial potential into a decision-focused strategy to grow, raise capital, enter new markets, or find the right acquirer.

Current vantage point

Still operating close to the decisions.

My advice is grounded in four decades of experience and kept current through active work with technology leaders in the United States and Europe.

Strategic adviser since 2023

Tritem Microsystems

Supporting strategy, commercialization, global expansion, key-account defense, partnerships, and M&A readiness.

Adviser & leadership team member

Poland in Silicon Valley

Connecting researchers and scale-ups with Stanford, Berkeley, and Silicon Valley, including relationships with 15 Polish universities.

Co-founding partner

Bridge2

Specialized support for US market entry, drawing on a team that has guided more than 45 companies across 12-plus countries.


How we work together

A direct relationship, deliberately kept small.

I treat advisory relationships like board seats: selective, candid, and built for continuity. I work with no more than three to five CEOs at a time.

A focused first conversation

We begin with 45 minutes on your company, the decision on your mind, and what a useful advisory relationship would need to accomplish.

A deeper working session

If there appears to be a fit, we spend more time on the real issue and experience how we think together before either of us commits.

A three-month engagement

We start with a three-month retainer, billed monthly: a weekly call plus the preparation and follow-through each conversation requires.

What colleagues have seen

Calm judgment when the stakes are high.

Hamid possesses a rare combination of wide-ranging knowledge, operational competency, and inspiring leadership that motivates teams to do their best, even in difficult situations. He is calm under pressure, thoughtful, and always focused on moving things forward.

Noam Livnat, co-founder, Motion Sense

He's both visionary and pragmatic, driven but not pushy. His integrity, open communication, and encouragement bring out the best of everyone in the team.

Tiemin Zhao, Technology Partner, Petram Ventures
Start a conversation

Tell me the decision on your mind.

Send a short note about your company and the question you are working through. I will reply personally, and if my experience is relevant, we can schedule a focused 45-minute conversation.

Email Hamid