Who they are
GearLaunch is a print-on-demand commerce platform: independent sellers open storefronts and sell custom-designed products — apparel, drinkware, wall art — while GearLaunch handles production, fulfillment and the platform underneath.
By the time AHM Technology was engaged, a modernization attempt had already consumed two years and millions of dollars.
The challenge
GearLaunch faced a critical turning point. The company had spent two years and millions of dollars with a third-party development agency to build a modernized platform. Despite the investment, the project had failed to deliver anything functional — and projections showed several more years and further significant spend before a viable platform could be achieved.
Meanwhile the legacy platform, though still operational, lacked the features, robustness and scalability needed to support future growth. GearLaunch needed decisive technology leadership to assess what had gone wrong, stabilize what existed, and chart a realistic path forward.
What we did
AHM Technology stepped in through fractional CTO leadership, with Neil Markey taking direct ownership of GearLaunch's technology strategy and execution.
Strategic Assessment and Change of Direction
A thorough assessment of the failed platform project was conducted. AHM Technology recommended discontinuing the relationship with the third-party agency and refocused the company on stabilizing and extending the life of the legacy platform, stopping further wasteful spend.
The wasteful spend stopped — and operational continuity recovered
Modular Modernization
AHM Technology architected a phased modernization strategy, replacing legacy components incrementally to reduce risk. A new customer-facing experience was built, delivering a modern, mobile-first e-commerce interface without requiring a full platform replacement upfront.
A modern customer experience, without a second big-bang attempt
Advanced Imaging Capabilities
New imaging technologies were developed to dynamically apply user designs onto lifestyle product mockups, enabling realistic design warping across t-shirt creases, curved drinkware, posters, and other product surfaces.
Product mockups that sell — creases, curves and all
Team Building and Organizational Restructuring
AHM Technology leveraged its industry relationships to recruit high-caliber engineers and establish a structured technology organization with clear roles and scalable delivery processes.
A technology organization that could deliver, not just maintain
B2B Platform and Partner Integrations
A new B2B platform was designed and developed, enabling partners to integrate directly with GearLaunch for seamless order transmission, printing, and distribution.
Partners integrated directly — orders in, printed goods out
AI Integration and Innovation
AI capabilities were introduced into the software development lifecycle to improve developer productivity and testing coverage. the team also prototyped AI-driven image creation tools, enabling customers to generate product designs from verbal descriptions and visualize them on selected products through AI-powered rendering.
Faster delivery from AI in the lifecycle — and a glimpse of AI-generated products
Business Development and Investor Engagement
The fractional CTO supported executive leadership in strategic business development discussions and represented GearLaunch's technology vision in investor relations and fundraising activities.
A technology story that held up with investors
The bravest recommendation was to stop: end the agency relationship, halt the spend, and build forward from the platform the company already had.
AI-powered innovation
AI-Enabled Developer Productivity
AI tooling was embedded into the software development lifecycle, improving developer productivity and expanding testing coverage across the platform.
AI-Powered Product Design
AHM Technology prototyped AI-driven image creation and enhancement tools, enabling customers to generate product designs from verbal descriptions and visualize them on selected products through AI-powered rendering. This lowered the barrier for sellers to bring original products to market.