Advisory and investment

Technology judgement for boards, investors and founders.

IHRH is the advisory and investment company of Ian Hepworth. I work with boards, investors and leadership teams on the technology, data and AI decisions that shape what a business is worth, and I build and back ventures of my own.

Start a conversation How I help
Late afternoon light across a pale stone staircase and dark oak handrail

Advisory

Senior technology leadership, when and where it is needed.

Most of the work comes to me at a moment that matters: a raise, an acquisition, a sale, a stalled programme or a board that needs a straight answer. I take ownership of the problem and leave behind something the business can run.

  1. 01

    Fractional and interim CTO

    Product, engineering and architecture leadership on a part-time or interim basis, with clear ownership of delivery, technical standards and partner governance.

  2. 02

    Board and non-executive advisory

    Independent technology judgement at board level, translating architecture, data and AI choices into commercial priorities that directors and investors can act on.

  3. 03

    Technical due diligence and M&A

    Evidence-based assessment of technology, product, security and IP for buyers and investors, and readiness work for businesses preparing for a sale or a raise.

  4. 04

    AI, data and product strategy

    Turning fragmented data into products that support decisions, and deciding where AI earns its place, with proof points that matter commercially before any large programme.

A closed notebook, fountain pen and folded drawing on a dark green leather desk

Approach

Evidence before assertion.

Start with what is true

I begin with the code, the data, the contracts and the people, not the slide deck. A sound decision rests on what the business can actually show.

Prove it commercially

I favour small, measurable steps that show value early over large transformation programmes that ask for faith. If it cannot be measured, it is not yet a plan.

Make ownership explicit

Every risk, decision and deliverable has a named owner and a date. Governance should help a team move faster with less risk, not slow it down.

Ventures

Building what I advise on.

IHRH funds and holds my own ventures. Building them keeps my advice honest: the same questions I ask of other businesses about product, cost, risk and value, I have to answer for myself.

Consumer app

DressForThis

A wardrobe and styling app that helps people decide what to wear from the clothes they already own, using AI that learns from real outcomes rather than guesswork.

Visit DressForThis

Marketplace, pre-launch

LuxeLegs

A UK marketplace for premium chauffeur journeys, giving operators a way to fill empty return legs at prices they control, with very little admin.

Visit LuxeLegs

About

Ian Hepworth

I have spent more than thirty years in technology, fifteen of them in C-level roles across SaaS, financial services, maritime and manufacturing. I have founded and scaled a venture-backed software business, led technology through a buy and build programme of more than a dozen acquisitions, and sat on both sides of the due diligence table.

Today I work as a fractional CTO and strategic technology adviser, alongside building my own ventures through IHRH. My edge is simple: I can read the code and I can read the board pack, and I will tell you plainly what one means for the other.

Focus
SaaS, data and applied AI
Work
Fractional CTO, board advisory, due diligence
Based
England, working UK wide

Contact

If there is a decision on the table, let us talk it through.

A short note with the context is enough. I reply personally, and conversations are confidential.

ian.hepworth@ihrhinvestments.co.uk