Research · Advisory · Capital · Led by Fortune 500 Veterans

Build Forward
Into the Future

We track 11 frontier technology sectors and 60+ companies — fusion energy, robotics, autonomous vehicles, solid-state batteries, and more.

Then we help executives make sense of it all and publish the research that capital allocators actually use. Led by Fortune 500 veterans who've done this work at scale.

What We Do

We research frontier technology sectors, advise executives navigating those sectors, and publish investment research for people putting capital to work. The same research powers all three.

1
Research

Sector Intelligence

We track 8 frontier technology sectors and 44+ companies. Weekly newsletter, sector dashboards, and deep research reports on fusion, robotics, solid-state batteries, water infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, and more.

Explore Sectors
2
Advisory

Strategic Consulting

We apply frontier tech intelligence to your business. AI readiness assessments, technology modernization roadmaps, and strategic advisory delivered by Fortune 500 veterans with Sony Latin America CIO experience.

View Engagements
3
Capital

Investment Insights

Thematic investment research across frontier tech. Model portfolios, company deep dives, and sector-weighted theses for accredited investors and family offices. Coming soon: BFT Frontier Tech Index.

Join Waitlist
Advisory Engagements

Consulting That Starts With Research

Fortune 500-caliber advisory for leaders navigating frontier technology decisions. Every engagement draws on the same sector intelligence we publish publicly.

$7,500 - $25,000

AI Readiness Assessment

Comprehensive evaluation of your organization's preparedness for AI integration. Infrastructure audit, workflow analysis, vendor selection, risk assessment, and a 12-month implementation roadmap.

$10,000/quarter

Technology Strategy Advisory

Retained advisory for executives navigating frontier technology decisions. Board presentations, vendor negotiations, competitive intelligence, and quarterly sector briefings.

Project-based

Modernization Engagements

Legacy system transformation with modern stack migration, cloud architecture, and performance optimization. Scoped to outcomes, not hours.

$5,000 - $50,000

Custom Sector Research

Bespoke intelligence reports on specific frontier technology sectors. Competitive landscapes, company profiles, investment theses, and market timing analysis for corporate strategy teams.

BFT Labs

We Don't Just Watch. We Build.

The best way to understand frontier technology is to ship it. Our in-house R&D produces PhD research, educational platforms, business software, and AI-powered intelligence tools — all informing the advice we give clients.

macOS 14+ · Free Forever ($19 Ad-Free)
available

WaveStage

QuickLook-Speed Audio Waveform Player with Pro Tools R/T Zoom & Tab-to-Transient (macOS 14+)

"Double-click any WAV/AIFF/FLAC/MP3 in Finder and audition in <25ms"

Opens in under 25ms with a 60fps stereo peak/RMS waveform, Pro Tools R/T zoom (1x to 64x), Tab and Shift+Tab transient navigation, Option-drag range looping, real-time Pitch Shift (-12 to +12 semitones) and Varispeed (0.5x to 2.0x), and Integrated LUFS / True Peak dBTP metering. Free forever (ad-supported) or $19 one-time to remove ads ($9.50 Educational / $149 Studio Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/wavestage
macOS 14+ · Free Forever ($12 Ad-Free)
available

ClipStage

Instant Cmd+Shift+V Clipboard Studio, Vision OCR & AI/Terminal Clean Paste (macOS 14+)

"Every screenshot OCR-indexed, every terminal paste unwrapped"

Native 25 MB SwiftUI clipboard history and staging manager. Summon a non-activating popup with Cmd+Shift+V or Cmd+Shift+C, automatically extract text from screenshots via Apple Vision OCR, unwrap 72-column hard-wrapped terminal lines, scrub invisible watermarks, and guard API secrets. Free forever (ad-supported) or $12 one-time to remove ads ($6 Educational / $99 Team Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/clipstage
macOS 14+ · Free Forever ($15 Ad-Free)
available

Tidy

Herdr Agent Hibernator, Essential App Pinning & TCC Permission Inspector (macOS 14+)

"Reclaim gigabytes of RAM from idle AI coding agents in one click"

Hibernates idle Claude Code, Gemini, and OpenCode processes in Herdr workspaces so pressing Enter wakes them on demand, pins your Essential Apps for 1-click Cycle Fresh, audits macOS TCC permissions and Login Items, purges duplicate Safari tabs, and monitors remote VNC security. Free forever (ad-supported) or $15 one-time to remove ads ($7.50 Educational / $129 Studio Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/tidy
Web & PWA · Free Forever ($19 Ad-Free)
available

Foods & Macros

84-Nutrient Macro Tracker, Store Floorplan Router & 270+ Botanical Produce Species

"Cronometer depth, CalorieTracker speed, and aisle-sorted grocery runs"

Tracks Calories, Protein, Net vs Total Carbs, Fat, Fiber, 13 Vitamins, 14 Minerals, Essential Amino Acids, and Polyphenols with zero paywalled micronutrients, routes shopping lists by physical bay across Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Costco, Sprouts, and H-Mart, and catalogs 270+ produce species and cultivars with optional Wikipedia photography.

buildforwardtech.com/foods
macOS 14+ · Free Forever ($19 Ad-Free)
available

Blackbox

Always-On 24-Bit Lossless FLAC Multitrack DAW Safety Recorder (macOS 14+)

"Never lose an un-armed take again, at 88.6% smaller file size"

Taps directly into your macOS audio interface via an input-only CoreAudio AUHAL unit and records every channel continuously in the background in 24-bit Lossless FLAC (shrinking an 8-channel studio day from 33.2 GB down to 3.7 GB with 0 lost samples) plus sample-exact stem stitching. Free forever (ad-supported) or $19 one-time to remove ads ($9.50 Educational / $149 Studio Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/blackbox
macOS 14+ · Free Forever ($19 Ad-Free)
available

Ambient

Always-On Studio Audio Recorder, Whisper Metal Search & NAS Archive (macOS 14+)

"Every session recorded, transcribed on-device, and archived to your NAS"

Sits in your macOS menu bar with dual-source live dBFS meters, continuously records MacBook Mic + studio interface audio, transcribes speech offline on Apple Silicon Metal via Whisper + Silero VAD, and keeps a fast 7-day rolling window on your laptop SSD while syncing forever to your NAS. Free forever (ad-supported) or $19 one-time to remove ads ($9.50 Educational / $149 Studio Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/ambient
macOS 14+ · Free Forever ($9 Ad-Free)
available

BarStage

Pin Your Own Apps First & Control Every macOS Menu Bar Slot (macOS 14+)

"Your own menu bar apps always first, never lost behind the notch"

Puts your own menu bar apps (ScreenStage, QuietPlease, Tidy, Loops, Blackbox, Ambient, MIDI Bridge, Herdr) first in a dedicated My App Bar dock, opens notch-hidden icons in one click via Accessibility AXPress, and physically reorders your macOS menu bar slots (#1 rightmost to leftmost) via automated Command-drag. Free forever (ad-supported) or $9 one-time to remove ads ($5 Educational / $89 Studio Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/barstage
Mac · Windows · Linux · Free Forever ($19 Ad-Free)
available

ScreenStage

Multi-Monitor Room Detection & Preset Manager (Mac, Windows & Linux)

"Every room remembers every screen"

Plug into your home desk, recording studio, or conference room and ScreenStage automatically recognizes the room, remembers every monitor and KVM TV, hides screens you aren't using, and switches layouts in one click. Free forever (ad-supported) or $19 one-time to remove ads ($9.50 Educational / $199 Studio & Team Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/screenstage
macOS 14+ · Free Forever ($15 Ad-Free)
available

QuietPlease

Real-Time Audio Compressor Detector & Wall Sign for Classrooms & Labs (macOS 14+)

"A real audio compressor detector for your room"

Runs a real audio compressor detector (Threshold, Ratio, Knee, Attack, Release, Peak vs RMS, Sidechain Filter, and 32-Band Sound Training) on a room microphone and puts a full-screen Quiet Please sign on every display when the room crosses threshold. Free forever (ad-supported) or $15 one-time to remove ads ($7.50 Educational / $149 Classroom & Studio Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/quietplease
Ableton Live 11 & 12 · Free Forever ($29 Ad-Free)
available

TrackCascade (abletools)

Pro Tools-Speed Batch Track Setup & Cascading I/O for Ableton Live

"Pro Tools workflows inside Ableton Live"

Batch-create Audio and MIDI tracks by count, type, name, and record-arm in one undo step (.ablx), and automatically fan stereo pairs (1/2, 5/6) and mono channels (3, 4) across your hardware audio interface (.amxd + CLI). Free forever (ad-supported) or $29 one-time to remove ads ($14.50 Educational / $249 Studio & Lab Pack).

buildforwardtech.com/trackcascade
macOS & Linux · Agent Multiplexer
active

Herdr

Multi-Workspace AI Terminal & Agent Fleet Multiplexer (macOS & Linux)

"Orchestrate parallel AI coding agents across workspaces"

A native-speed terminal workspace multiplexer for orchestrating parallel Claude Code, Gemini, and OpenCode sessions with visual pane dashboards, workspace naming, and menu bar quick-jump integration via BarStage.

buildforwardtech.com/barstage
EdTech Platform
In Production

Midimaze Platform

Educational LMS + Admin Platform

"The self-hosted answer to Canvas"

A full-stack educational platform for Recording Arts & Technology at Southwestern College. TanStack Start + Convex + Clerk. Features: classroom management, gradebook, attendance tracking, audio analysis tools, 3D campus portal, and 30+ specialized portals. Built to replace institutional software that wasn't serving students.

midimaze.com
Open Source
Beta · 2 modules live, 10 in roadmap

ConvexCompose

Open-Source Modular ERP Framework

"Compose Convex apps from modules"

An open-source modular ERP framework built on Convex. Pre-built business modules (mail, tasks, inventory, LMS, booking) drop into any full-stack Convex application. Three-layer portability (Convex core + framework-agnostic React + thin route wrappers) means modules work in TanStack Start, Next.js, or Remix. The unbundled Odoo for the React/Convex era, extracted from battle-tested Midimaze code.

convex.store
Internal Tool
Active

BFT Sector Intelligence Engine

AI-Powered Newsletter Ingestion Pipeline

"How we curate frontier tech at scale"

Our proprietary pipeline ingests TLDR, TLDR AI, and other tech sources into a structured database, uses Claude to auto-classify articles by sector, extract company mentions, and generate weekly digest drafts. Processes ~27,000 articles/year at ~$18/year in AI costs.

Featured Package

AI Readiness Assessment

A comprehensive evaluation of your organization's preparedness for AI integration. We assess your infrastructure, security posture, and operational workflows to create a customized roadmap.

Security Audit

Comprehensive review of your current security posture and AI-specific vulnerabilities

Cost Optimization

Analysis of infrastructure costs and recommendations for AI workload efficiency

AI Integration

Strategic roadmap for incorporating AI tools into your existing workflows

$7,500 – $25,000
Get Your AI Assessment

What You'll Receive

  • Executive summary with actionable recommendations
  • Security risk assessment report
  • Cost optimization analysis
  • AI integration roadmap
  • Implementation timeline
  • 30-day follow-up consultation
Leadership

Our Team

Enterprise veterans delivering Fortune 500 expertise with boutique attention

VT

Vinnie Tiruviluamala

Principal Consultant

Former CIO of Sony Latin America

With over two decades of executive technology leadership, Vinnie brings enterprise-level expertise to organizations of all sizes. His experience steering technology strategy for Sony Latin America gives clients access to Fortune 500 insights and best practices, applied with the personalized attention of a boutique consultancy.

NT

Nakul Tiruviluamala

Chief Technology Officer

Full-Stack Engineer & Systems Architect

Nakul leads the technical execution at Build Forward Tech, architecting modern web applications, cloud infrastructure, and AI integrations. With deep expertise in full-stack development, DevOps, and audio engineering systems, he ensures every project is built on a solid, scalable foundation.

Our Portfolio

A range of projects — from full-stack platforms to small business sites — each tailored to the client's needs

Health in Small Doses screenshot
Sister Publication

Health in Small Doses

Curated medical technology reviews, health research, and life wisdom by Paravathi Tiruviluamala. Sister publication to Build Forward Tech, applying the same research-driven curation methodology to medicine and wellness.

healthinsmalldoses.com

Verse & Vow screenshot
Event Agency

Verse & Vow

Full-service wedding and event agency featuring entertainment booking, photography packages, and event coordination.

verseandvow.com

Zora's Little Batch Bakehouse screenshot
Small Business

Zora's Little Batch Bakehouse

Artisan bakery showcasing handcrafted small-batch pastries, custom cakes, and seasonal menus.

zoracohen.com

Midimaze screenshot
EdTech Platform

Midimaze

Full-stack educational platform built with Astro, React, and TypeScript, featuring knowledge-graph navigation, full-text search, real-time collaboration, and 1,000+ interconnected articles powered by a headless Obsidian CMS.

midimaze.com

MusicMind screenshot
Affiliated Studio & Software

MusicMind

Affiliated music technology and business studio publishing commercial creator software (ScreenStage, abletools, QuietPlease, WaveStage, Blackbox, Ambient) alongside artist consulting, catalog administration, and licensing workflows.

musicmind.biz

Southwestern Recording screenshot
Education

Southwestern Recording

Official college program website for Southwestern College's Recording Arts & Technology department.

southwesternrecording.com

Musician's Empowerment Collective screenshot
Non-Profit

Musician's Empowerment Collective

Website for a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering musicians through community, resources, and advocacy.

mecinfo.org

April Garnica screenshot
Portfolio

April Garnica

Portfolio site for a professional videographer and photographer showcasing cinematic work and booking info.

aprilgarnica.com

Nakul Tiruviluamala screenshot
Portfolio

Nakul Tiruviluamala

Personal portfolio for a full-stack engineer, music technologist, and educator.

nakultiruviluamala.com

+

Your Project Here

Need a custom website, web app, or platform? Let's build something tailored to your vision.

Start a conversation
Weekly Newsletter

The Future, Delivered Weekly

Curated breakthroughs across fusion, robotics, water tech, batteries, autonomous vehicles, and more. TLDR-style format — scan in 2 minutes or dive deep.

Subscribe for Free
Get Started

Let's Build Forward Together

Ready to transform your technology strategy? Schedule a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your goals and how we can help.

🗓️ Book a Free 30-Minute Consultation

No commitment required. We'll discuss your challenges and explore how Build Forward Tech can help you achieve your goals.

Send Us a Message