Hiro Yamada

Background

About Hiro Yamada

Looking for help meeting your product launch timelines? I can help. I’m Hiro — a product founder-turned-product partner. After shipping global products at Google, Palantir, and Asana, I co-founded First Mate Technologies to help early-stage startups ship faster without sacrificing quality. First Mate is your go-to product development partner. We lead a crew of 30+ senior engineers across Asia who deliver Silicon-Valley-quality software at startup speed and runway-friendly rates. We work with founders from YCombinator, NFX, Village Global, and South Park Commons to launch v1s, harden security, and prep for scale. Teams like Alma, Holly, Exante and dozens of VC-backed startups trust us with their mission-critical products. What makes us different? We’ve been in your shoes — pitching, launching, burning, surviving. We bring Silicon Valley experience + Harvard roots. We tap top-tier, cost-efficient engineering talent across Asia. Hear about our work from fellow US VC-backed founders:"You are resilient, and your communication is open and honest. You broke the stereotype of unreliable and opaque dev shops."- Aizada, CEO @ ALMA “Working with First Mate felt like an extension of our own team. They ramped up quickly, took initiative, and helped us ship critical infrastructure we didn’t have time for.” - Miguel, Founding Engineer @ Flychain If you’re an early-stage founder needing an interim VP Eng/CTO, a YC alum racing toward Series A, or an investor seeking a portfolio-wide technical partner — let’s connect. Click the Calendly link in my bio or visit to learn more.