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adminMarshall Tech
Nick Hugh
Founder & Principal Consultant
Nick is a tech entrepreneur with 8+ years of experience spanning systems architecture, software engineering, database design, and modern frontend UX/UI. He is deeply passionate about exploring the relationship humans have with product, and how this is constantly evolving in the emerging machine-to-machine era. Before founding Marshall Tech, Nick led technical teams building products used by tens of thousands of users. He now provides fractional CTO leadership to growing Australian businesses.
Credentials
- 8+ years enterprise and startup technical leadership
- Former technical lead at scale, with products serving tens of thousands of users
- Systems architecture, software engineering, database design specialist
- AI implementation specialist (Claude, OpenAI, Deep Research)
- Placed and won prizes in global hackathons
- Built a proprietary SDUI framework and infrastructure from the ground up
Domain Expertise
Fractional CTO LeadershipAI Strategy & ImplementationSystems Architecture & Database DesignModern Frontend UX/UICustom Software DevelopmentTech Stack OptimisationRevenue Operations
Expert Insights
View all“AI readiness isn't about having perfect data. It's about having accessible data. Most businesses score 40-60% on their first assessment, and that's completely fine. The gaps become your implementation roadmap.”
On AI readiness assessments for Australian SMBs
“The sweet spot for a fractional CTO is $2M-$20M revenue. Below that, you need a hands-on co-founder. Above that, the decision volume justifies full-time. In the middle, you get senior leadership without the $400k overhead.”
On when to hire a fractional CTO
“The biggest mistake with automation is treating it as a technology decision. It's a financial decision. Hours saved times hourly cost minus automation cost equals monthly net value. If the payback is beyond 6 months, re-scope.”
On calculating automation ROI
“CRMs don't break overnight. They degrade gradually. By the time symptoms are visible, the root causes are deeply intertwined. A 3-week rescue sprint (audit, rebuild, test) saves months of accumulated damage.”
On CRM platform rescue engagements
“When your marketing team exports data to Google Sheets for reporting instead of using CRM dashboards, it means they don't trust the data. Shadow spreadsheets are the most reliable indicator of a broken platform.”
On diagnosing broken CRM implementations
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