About
John Contreras
Founder, CTO, and product engineer.
www.johnny.am | github.com/johnnycon | x.com/johnnycon
The story
I've been shipping software for more than fifteen years. I started as an engineer and kept getting pulled toward the whole problem: the product, the people, the business. Along the way I've been the head of product, the VP, the CTO, and the founder.
In 2014 I co-founded MoveSpring, a corporate wellness platform, and Stridekick, a fitness social app. At MoveSpring I wrote the first line of code, helped grow the company past 30 people, and took it from idea to profitability to an acquisition by Reward Gateway in 2022. I stayed on through 2024 to lead the product integration. Stridekick is still running today.
I've also led architecture and development in healthcare, sports betting, ecommerce, and finance. Different industries, same job: turn a messy business problem into software that holds up.
Today I build my own products, write about what I'm learning, and work with a small number of founders and teams as a fractional CTO or hands-on builder. AI is part of every step. It doesn't replace judgment. It amplifies it.
- Years shipping software
- 15+
- Companies co-founded
- 2
- Acquisition
- 1
- Users reached
- 3M+
Experience
MoveSpring
2014 to 2022
Co-founder & CTO
AcquiredCorporate wellness platform that helped companies run activity challenges for their employees. Built the product from the first line of code, grew the team past 30 people, and scaled to hundreds of enterprise clients. Acquired by Reward Gateway in 2022. Stayed on through 2024 to lead the product integration.
- Wrote the first line of code and led technology through the exit
- Grew engineering and product from zero to a 30+ person company
- Took the business from idea to profitability to acquisition
- Led post-acquisition product integration at Reward Gateway
Stridekick
2014 to 2025
Co-founder & CTO
Still runningFitness social platform that keeps people moving together. Built from scratch, from the backend architecture to the mobile apps. Still running, still growing, still serving users every day.
- Designed the backend architecture and shipped the iOS and Android apps
- Kept a consumer product healthy and growing for over a decade
Director of Architecture & Development
Healthcare
Built the platform that evaluated pre-authorization for high-cost radiology and specialty pharmacy procedures.
Lead Architect
Sports betting
Architected a national sports betting platform from the ground up. High stakes, high throughput.
Lead Developer
Ecommerce
Built the platform powering white-label B2B storefronts. One codebase, many brands.
Lead Developer
Finance
Shipped across finance and accounting. Multiple products, multiple teams.
What I bring
Leadership
- Fractional CTO
- Hiring and team building
- Product strategy
- M&A integration
Engineering
- TypeScript
- React and Next.js
- React Native
- Swift and SwiftUI
- GraphQL
- Docker
AI
- AI-assisted engineering
- Agents and skills
- LLM product integration
- Workflow automation
Building now
Avocado. AI-powered nutrition tracking.
avocado.appThesis. Lyric videos, timed to the word.
thesis.appCustom Heroes. Personalized storybooks starring your kid.
customheroes.aiUnboxery. Compare supplements by what's in them.
unboxery.comDoodle Name. AI business naming with live domain checks.
doodle.name
What I believe
Code is cheap. Engineering isn't.
AI made writing code nearly free. Knowing what to build, how to structure it, and how to keep it simple is where the value moved.
Read Is Coding Dead?Choose the stack for the product.
React Native was the right call for a startup that needed speed. With AI shrinking the cost of code, native is worth another look.
Read React Native Was the Right CallTeach your tools how you work.
Capture your patterns once, as skills and conventions, and every session after that starts smarter.
Read Making Sense of AI Agent SkillsHiring, building, or stuck on a big call?
Whether it's a role, a project, or a second opinion, I'm happy to talk it through.