About Cold Start Lab

I'm Brian. I've been working with computers hands-on for over 20 years, starting at age 12. What began with taking apart and rebuilding family computers turned into a career building technical systems for people and organizations who value reliability over hype.

I've helped people move from paper to digital, replace systems that were causing more stress than they solved, and figure out what to do when they knew they needed technology but had no idea where to start. That moment—starting from nothing or from something that's broken—is the hardest part. Once you're past that initial hurdle and have systems that actually work, everything else gets easier.

Cold Start Lab exists to serve clients who have clearly defined technical problems and prefer straightforward communication. I don't do sales pitches or ongoing contract lock-ins. I build systems that work, document them thoroughly, and hand them off cleanly.

I've already done the research. My homelab runs about 70 different self-hosted applications—things like file storage, automation tools, monitoring systems, databases, and collaboration platforms. I've tested hundreds more and know what works, what breaks, and what's worth your time. When you ask "what should I use?", I can tell you from actual experience, not vendor documentation.

My homelab experience directly informs recommendations for cost-effective solutions. I've tested both commercial and open-source alternatives in the same categories—file storage, automation, databases, monitoring—so I can tell you which open-source tools genuinely work as replacements for expensive commercial products. This saves clients from unnecessary software costs while maintaining reliability and functionality.

This extends to physical work that needs to connect with digital systems. I've helped figure out equipment needs, research options, and make things work together—like scanning devices that feed into design software, or lab equipment that needs to record data digitally. The approach is always the same: understand what you're trying to accomplish, find cost-effective solutions, and build systems that make your work easier instead of harder.

Whether it's a website, an automation workflow, infrastructure build, or equipment integration, the approach is the same: understand the actual requirement, choose appropriate technology, build it right, and make sure you can maintain it or hand it off to someone else if needed.