About

I’m Todd Adams. I build things with technology.

For the past 25 years, I’ve been designing, building, and shipping software — from hosting infrastructure and SaaS platforms to web applications and AI-powered products. I’ve run SaaS business units, directed multi-product portfolios with full P&L responsibility, and shipped production AI systems at scale.

Today I run two practices in parallel. Networkzero (NT0) is where I serve as fractional CTO + AI Lead for $10–50M operators with no full-time tech leader — most often in automotive aftermarket, heavy-duty aftermarket, and vertical SaaS. Lamplight Technology is where I build and operate my own production SaaS portfolio. The two feed each other: Lamplight is the engineering practice that keeps my production muscle current, and the architectural patterns I work out there are what I bring to client engagements. I bring in trusted collaborators from my network when projects require it.

The Networkzero Story

I started Networkzero 25 years ago. Back then, it was hosting, infrastructure, and development — the foundational stuff that everything runs on. I’ve built through every wave of technology: the early web, mobile, cloud, SaaS, and now AI. The name stuck because it captures what I do: take something from zero and make it real.

For most of that time, I kept my head down and built. I worked with clients directly, shipped projects, and let the work speak for itself. Not much advertising, not much self-promotion — just consistent delivery.

Now I’m repositioning Networkzero for what’s next. The tools have changed dramatically, and the opportunities are everywhere. I’ve built a network of trusted collaborators — engineers, designers, and specialists — who I bring in as projects require. I also build and operate my own SaaS products through Lamplight Technology (llt.llc). We’re focused on where we can create the most value: helping people test ideas fast and build real products.

Why AI, Why Now

I’ve been building software for two and a half decades, and I’ve never seen a shift like what’s happening with AI. It’s not hype — it’s a genuine capability unlock. The things we can build today in a few weeks would have taken a full team months just a couple of years ago.

But here’s the thing most people miss: AI tools are only as good as the person using them. I’ve been building production AI since 2022, before GPT-4 — around the time GPT-3.5 came out, and a few years before this consulting category got crowded with people who started in 2024. I built when context windows were 4K tokens, when nothing worked reliably, when you had to engineer around hallucinations and rate limits and tool-call brittleness. That experience is what lets me tell you which 2026 vendor pitch is durable and which is a flash in the pan.

Knowing how to prompt an LLM is table stakes. Knowing how to architect a system that uses AI reliably, at scale, in production — that takes experience. I’ve shipped OCR, computer vision, NLP, and LLM/RAG pipelines into mission-critical production environments. We use AI across our entire development process — planning, architecture, code generation, testing, and delivery. That’s what 25 years of building gives you: not demos, but systems that actually run.

How We Engage

We keep things simple. You tell us what you’re trying to build. We tell you what’s realistic, what it’ll take, and how long. If it makes sense, we build it. If it doesn’t, we’ll tell you that too.

We don’t do proposals that take three weeks. We don’t do death-by-committee. We build, you review, we iterate. That’s it.

We work best with people who value directness, move fast, and care about quality. If that’s you, let’s talk.

The Stack I Love

Where I’ve Built

Before going full-time on NT0, I spent the bulk of my career in engineering and business leadership — most recently as Vertical President at Fullsteam, where I directed a multi-product SaaS portfolio across the automotive vertical with full P&L responsibility. Before that, I was President of a SaaS business unit and VP of Engineering & Product Management. I led platform unification across multiple acquired products, integrated applied AI into production workflows, and built the delivery practices that let teams ship reliably at scale.

Today, I also build and operate production SaaS products through Lamplight Technology — including tools for job seekers, accounting teams, camp management, and auto repair shops, with more in the pipeline. We’re AI-first across the board: AI in the products, AI in how we build them.

That background is what makes NT0 different. I don’t just write code — I understand how products, platforms, and engineering organizations actually work.

Where I Work From

I run the practice from Columbia Falls, Montana. I travel deliberately when work calls for it — kickoffs, board readouts, vertical conferences — and the rest happens on video and through working software. That cadence happens to be how mid-market companies should be managing senior tech relationships in 2026 anyway.

How I Sell

I don’t sell forever retainers. I sell graduation. Every engagement is structured to compress over time — your team identifies an internal champion in month one, vibe-codes their own internal tools by month three, runs their own evals by month six, and owns the production systems we shipped by month nine to twelve. The retainer compresses to a strategy-only relationship, converts to advisory, or sunsets entirely.

Most consultants won’t say that out loud because they need the lock-in to feed their pipeline. I don’t.

I have a Rolodex and a track record that produces new clients without that crutch. The CEOs who hear that line and the CEOs who hear the standard fractional-CAIO pitch are evaluating two different vendors before I’ve quoted a price.