Anthony Grant
Product engineering, AI and user experience
I started out as a product manager. Since then I've learned to code, and now I build heaps of stuff: web apps, mobile apps, AI agents and the automations that tie them together.
When I'm not building, I'm running really far in the mountains around Wānaka.
Get in touch
My background
I didn't start in tech. I took the long way round to building software for a living.
- UniversityMarketing and biotech
A BCom/BSc majoring in marketing and biotechnology, then postgraduate study in bioscience enterprise.
- First tech jobClient relationships at a tech startup
I took the job during my postgrad without really knowing what a tech startup was. I fell in love with how fast software moved. In biotech, one regulation cycle can take 9 or 10 years.
- ProductProduct owner, then product manager
I moved into product ownership, then product management at a startup in Wellington. A couple of years in, I got restless. I wanted to build things myself.
- Learning to codeA $15 Udemy course
I learned basic web development before AI could write it for you. Then I built the first version of Fittir, an idea I couldn't shake: help runners find the right shoe online.
- Three years of FittirBecoming a product engineer
Fittir kept growing, and I slowly worked my way out of my part-time job. I fell in love with writing software. Knowing what's possible and pairing it with a product mindset felt empowering. I was an early adopter of the LLM APIs and built AI agents to help run it, because I couldn't afford to hire anyone. That's product engineering: product management and engineering in one person.
- ContractingBuilding for others, and for myself
People started asking what I was doing, so I went contracting. I build anything I can get my hands on, and I keep taking on bigger, more complex projects. AI agents, web apps, mobile apps: all with a product person's eye for what to build and why. Most of the time I've got a startup or two of my own on the go as well.
- Now15+ web apps and 5+ mobile apps live
My days are spent getting coffees with people, turning ideas into product and technical plans, geeking out about user experience, pushing the limits of AI and caring about the code I put my name on. And running f*cking heaps in the mountains.
What I love most is building good software that actually matters. Software that solves a real problem and makes a difference in people's lives. That's why I do this.
Running changed my life. It's most of what I do when I'm not building software.
- Growing upAuckland, then Wellington for uni
I grew up in Auckland and moved to Wellington for university.
- UniversityThe hard years
At uni I struggled with drinking and drugs, and got up to 110kg.
- Fourth year of uniSigning up for a marathon
I started running and signed up for my first marathon. It changed my life. Since then it's been 50km, 74km, 100km and eventually 100 miles.
- Moving aroundAuckland, Wellington, Queenstown, Wānaka
Back to Auckland for postgrad, back to Wellington for my first product job, then Queenstown, and now Wānaka. These days I spend basically all my time outside in the mountains.
- 20258 Peaks
A solo 170km mountain traverse from Queenstown to Wānaka, over eight peaks along the way. It took about 38 hours.
- 2026Northburn 100
160km and 9,000m of climbing through the Otago high country, in 32 hours.
- NowSponsored athlete
I run for Rab, Topo and Suunto, and share the adventures as I go.
Follow along as @run.ant.run on Instagram (10,000+) and TikTok (6,000+).
What I’m passionate about
- Doing the right thing
- In software, in business and in normal life. Pick the right problems to solve, then solve them properly.
- Helping people out
- I love getting in early with people who need a hand and aren't sure where to go next. I give them a view of the product and technical side to add to their own expertise.
- Measurable impact
- All software should have a measurable impact on the people who use it and the people who pay for it. If you can't measure it, you can't tell if it worked.
What I’m currently working on
Product In Your Pocket
My product engineering studio. I help businesses work out what to build, then build it: apps, AI agents and the automations that tie them together.
frmr
A vertical AI agent for construction. It turns a builder's emails, WhatsApps, voice notes and meetings into one job file per project.
Scouty
A marketplace that matches people with the right health and fitness coach, then lets them message, book and pay that coach in one place.
Hammy
A pixel-art hamster that grows as you run. It links to Strava, and Hammy levels up, gets fitter and coaches you with every run you log.
Run Ant Run
My running, on Instagram. Ultras and solo mountain traverses from Wānaka, shared as I go, as a sponsored athlete for Rab, Topo and Suunto.
Projects
11 of 11 projects
Client work
Lemira Roof Quote
An embeddable roof painting quote that measures your roof from national survey data. Type an address and it finds the house, reads the roof pitch from aircraft LiDAR, and works out the true surface area. Nobody climbs a ladder.
Web apps, Data pipelines, Integrations
My product
Roof Pitch API
A REST API that turns a New Zealand street address into a measured roof pitch and the true roof surface area, read from aerial LiDAR. The measurement engine I built for Lemira, opened up for anyone who prices work by the roof.
Developer tools, Data pipelines
My product
Hammy
A running app where a pixel-art hamster grows as you run. It links to Strava, turns every run into XP and gear, and coaches your training through a hamster who gets fitter, tired or heartbroken depending on how you train.
Mobile apps, Integrations
Client work
The Mountain Club
One platform that runs a Queenstown members club: memberships, bookings, events, billing, luxury travel itineraries and a member app. It replaced Optix, HubSpot and three other tools, and saves the club $90,000 a year in subscriptions.
Web apps, Mobile apps, Integrations, Automation, Data & reporting
Client work
Queenstown Lakes Newcomers Guide
The council's printed guide for people who've just moved to the district, rebuilt as a website in five languages. Answer five questions and it becomes your own settling-in checklist, in te reo Māori, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish or English.
Web apps
My product
Scouty
A two-sided marketplace that matches people with the right health and fitness coach, then lets them message, book and pay that coach, with a full toolkit for coaches to run their business.
Web apps, Marketplace, Integrations, Automation
My productsupabase-stateful
An open-source CLI that makes local Supabase remember. Stop it and your test users, data and relationships are saved; start it again and they're all back, with new migrations applied on top.
Developer tools, Automation
Client work
Southern Rivers Fly Fishing
An AI back office for a fly-fishing guide. It reads Jake's email in both directions and keeps his CRM, invoices, calendar and mailing list current, so he doubled his bookings without doubling his admin.
AI agents, Web apps, Automation, Integrations
Client work
HomeFree
A platform for New Zealand mortgage advisors and their clients: an advisor web app, a client mobile app, and a shared mortgage engine that forecasts every loan to spot refix and refinance opportunities before they're missed.
Web apps, Mobile apps, Data & reporting, Automation
Client work
The Data Lab
A multi-tenant reporting platform for a marketing agency. It pulls every client's data in automatically each week, shows it on dashboards the agency configures per client, and surfaces insights from rules the agency writes itself.
Web apps, Data & reporting, Integrations, Automation
My product
Fittir
A running-shoe recommender that matched runners to shoes from 25+ answers, backed by a catalogue that kept itself up to date with AI-summarised reviews and live deals from 15 retailers.
Web apps, AI agents, Automation, Integrations, Data & reporting
People who’ve worked with me
“He was the first who made me feel heard, and could translate complex technical ideas into plain English. He delivered exactly what he promised.”
“Anthony has been an absolute legend helping us build The Data Lab. Our clients finally feel in control of their data.”
“Having you to bounce ideas off is amazing. You have been a dream to work with. You can be proud of that, mate.”
“Anthony has been an indispensable partner from day one, from high-level strategic planning through to implementation. He has consistently over-delivered at every stage. Couldn't have done this without you.”
