Software Startup Academy

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For experienced tech professionals ready for a senior-plus role

Get mentored one-to-one into a $250k tech role, from getting found to signing the offer

Four months of weekly one-to-one sessions with me. We build your authority, get you interviewing at the right level, and negotiate the offer together.

Make sure your sound is on

Join The Authority Accelerator

$4,995

or 4 × $1,395

4 months · weekly one-to-one mentoring with Andre Start with your first session this week
  • 20+ years

    in tech, hiring and being hired

  • J.P. Morgan

    Legal & General, Sky, Sainsbury's

  • Mentor

    to engineers since founding iMobilize in 2010

Getting Found Is Step One. The Money Is Won In The Next Three.

If you’ve done the $250K Tech Career Blueprint, you know the first step: become the authority in one niche, and make your LinkedIn and CV prove it, so recruiters find you instead of you applying into silence.

But that’s where most people get stuck on their own.

They start getting calls, then lose senior interviews on how they come across, not what they know. They ramble about low-level detail when the interviewer wanted their decision-making. They freeze on “tell me about yourself”. And when the offer finally comes, they’re so relieved they accept the first number.

Senior people aren't hired for knowing more. They're hired because they walk and talk like someone who already does the job.

That’s not something you fix by watching another video. You fix it by practising with someone who has sat on both sides of the table, and who tells you exactly what to change.

I’ve been hired into engineering roles at J.P. Morgan and Legal & General, and I’ve hired, trained and positioned engineers for my own consultancy. Today I lead architecture for an AI agent platform. I know what the person across the table is listening for.

So For Four Months, We Do It Together

Every week you get a one-to-one session with me. We start by making you the obvious specialist in your niche, then work on how you communicate, rehearse your interviews until they feel easy, and plan your negotiation before the offer arrives.

Between sessions you work through four advanced modules, so our time together is spent on your situation: your profile, your interviews, your offers.

That's what happens inside The Authority Accelerator.

On your own or with a mentor

Two Ways To Get To Your Next Role

You can get there on your own. The difference is how long it takes, how many good opportunities you lose on the way, and what you're paid when you arrive.

QuestionOn your ownThe Authority Accelerator
Your positioningGuessing what recruiters wantNiche, pitch, LinkedIn and CV signed off with me
Interview practiceLearning in the real interviewsMock interviews with feedback first
Senior presenceHoping your skills speak for youCommunicating like a leader
ObjectionsThinking of the answer afterwardsRehearsed answers to the hard questions
The offerAccepting the first numberA negotiation plan, practised in advance
When you get stuckSearching forumsAsking me at your next weekly session

How the four months work

Your Month-By-Month Roadmap

One focus a month, one session a week. The pace adjusts to where you are: if you're already interviewing, we move to month three sooner.

  1. Month 1

    Become the authority

    Pick your micro-niche, sharpen your authority pitch, and rebuild your LinkedIn and CV around it. We sign each one off together.

  2. Month 2

    Get found and lead

    Your publishing plan and headhunting outreach go live. We work on communicating like a leader and your 4 Es stories.

  3. Month 3

    Win the interviews

    Your 2-minute HR pitch, objection handling and common questions, then mock HR, technical and system design interviews.

  4. Month 4

    Negotiate and land

    We plan and role-play your negotiation, review your offers together, and set up your first 90 days in the new role.

What's inside

Everything You Get Inside The Authority Accelerator

Weekly one-to-one mentoring, four advanced modules to work through between sessions, and everything from the Blueprint.

The core of the programme

Weekly One-To-One Mentoring With Andre

Every week for four months, you and I meet on a video call. It’s your time: we work on your profile, your applications, your interviews and your offers, not a generic lesson.

  • A personal plan from your first session, based on your target role
  • Profile, CV and pitch reviewed live, until they're right
  • Mock HR, technical and system design interviews with honest feedback
  • Salary negotiation role-play before every real conversation
  • Offer review: we compare packages and decide together
  • A plan for your first 90 days, so you start at the new level
  1. MODULE 01

    Authority Foundations

    The Blueprint, done with you: your micro-niche, authority pitch, LinkedIn profile and beat-the-bots CV, built and reviewed in your sessions.

    Month 1

  2. MODULE 02

    Communicate Like A Leader

    How senior people speak, so interviewers and managers hear a leader, not a doer.

    • Bottom line up front: the answer first, then the reasoning
    • Speak in outcomes, not tasks
    • Talk in trade-offs, the way architects and principals do

    Month 2

  3. MODULE 03

    The 4 Es Of A Great Leader

    Energy, Energise, Edge and Execute: the qualities senior hiring is really testing for, and a real story from your career for each one.

    Month 2

  4. MODULE 04

    Win The Interview

    From the first HR call to the final round.

    • The 2-minute pitch that moves you to the next round
    • "Tell me about yourself" in 90 seconds
    • Objection handling, and answers to the common questions
    • Coding and system design: show how you think, not just what you know

    Month 3

  5. MODULE 05

    Negotiate The Salary You Want

    Position yourself so you're paid what you're worth, not what's offered.

    • What to say when they ask your current salary
    • How to counter, and what to do when they say it's final
    • Negotiating the whole package: base, bonus, equity, title, remote days

    Month 4

  • The $250K Tech Career Blueprint

    All seven lessons, templates and the CV kit. If you haven't done it yet, it's where we start.

  • My Book: Branding For Profit

    The positioning psychology behind premium prices, which is exactly what we apply to your career.

Join for $4,995 in full

or 4 payments of $1,395

Is it right for you?

Who The Authority Accelerator Is For

This is for you if…

  • You have real experience in tech, usually 5 years or more
  • You're aiming at senior, lead, staff, principal or architect roles
  • You feel underpaid, stuck at your level, or you're applying and hearing nothing
  • You'll put in the work between sessions
  • You're happy to build a presence on LinkedIn

This is not for you if…

  • You want a guaranteed job or salary rather than a mentor and a method
  • You're looking for your very first job in tech
  • You won't use LinkedIn
  • You want someone to do it all for you

Your mentor

Learn From Someone Who Has Mentored Engineers For Years

Andre Barrett with his first team of software developers in their London office
Me with my first employees in our first office

When I started my digital agency, I hired inexperienced software developers and personally mentored and trained them until they became great software engineers.

I also sold their skills to clients, which taught me how to position engineers so they win the best projects. I trained them so well that holding on to them was hard.

That’s the same positioning and hands-on mentoring you get in the Authority Accelerator, one-to-one, every week.

“Andre has been a massive help to my learning in the last few months. With his mentorship I have come to understand a great deal more about the coding principles and the best development techniques; which have led me to pursue my dreams of building my own apps.”
Rebecca Halford Mentored by Andre in iOS development
“Andre was a mentor to the junior engineers on the team, and he was my go to developer when I had a complex problem to implement. I was impressed with Andre's dedication and passion towards test driven development and best software engineering practices.”
Mirette Bastaurous Mentored by Andre in software development

Frequently asked questions

Still Have Questions?

How do the mentoring sessions work?

You get one one-to-one video session with me every week for four months. You book them at times that suit you, and we work on your real situation: your profile, applications, interviews and offers.

How do the payments work?

You can pay $4,995 upfront, or spread it over 4 monthly payments of $1,395. With the payment plan, the first $1,395 is taken at checkout to get you started.

I've already bought the $250K Tech Career Blueprint. Is that included?

Yes. The Blueprint is the foundation of month one, so we build on the work you've already done.

I don't have all the required skills yet. Will this still help?

If you have real experience in tech, yes. Most hiring decisions come down to how clearly you show your value and how you come across, and that's what we work on. If you have a genuine gap, we'll find it early and plan around it.

Do you guarantee I'll get a job or a salary?

No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What I guarantee is that you'll have me in your corner every week, with a clear plan. Your results depend on your experience, your market and the work you put in.

Does this work in the UK as well as the US?

Yes. I'm based in London and have worked in both markets. The method is the same; we set your salary targets for the market you're in.

What happens after I join?

You'll get an email straight away with your login and a link to book your first session. We'll start with your target role and a plan for the four months.

Still unsure? Email support@softwarestartupacademy.com

Ready when you are

Stop Working Out The Next Step On Your Own.

You have the experience. For the next four months, I'll help you get seen as the authority, win the interviews and negotiate the offer, one week at a time.

The Authority Accelerator

4 months · weekly one-to-one mentoring with Andre

Pay in full Save $585

$4,995

One payment, upfront

Spread the cost

4 × $1,395

$1,395 today to get started, then 3 monthly payments

  • Weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions with Andre for 4 months
  • 4 advanced modules: leadership communication, the 4 Es, interviews, negotiation
  • Your LinkedIn profile, CV and pitch reviewed and signed off with you
  • Mock interviews and salary negotiation role-play before the real ones
  • The $250K Tech Career Blueprint and Branding For Profit included

Secure checkout · Pay in full or in 4 instalments

Results vary and are not typical. Your results depend on your experience, the roles you apply for, your market and the effort you put in. Nothing on this page is a promise of employment or of any particular salary.