Co-founder & CTO

John Barbour

Entrepreneurial problem solver with a BS in chemical engineering and deep full-stack web development experience. I build decision-making tools and B2B SaaS — from DoW energy resiliency planning to Air Force strategic capabilities.

johnbarbour@mecetech.com (720) 256-4080

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Summary

What I bring

I have developed decision-making tools for DoW energy resiliency planning that supported 4 SBIR defense contracts. I developed and delivered a web application for the Department of the Air Force to improve strategic capabilities — work that received two customer memorandums, including Wing Commander support.

I conducted business operations and brought in $50,000 of non-dilutive funding for the endeavor, and won 1st place at the South Dakota Governor's Giant Vision Business Plan & Pitch Competition. At MECE TECH I design, develop, and deploy full-stack multi-service applications — with clarity, structure, and long-term maintainability in mind.

Experience

Where I've built

Feb 2025 — Present

Founder & CTO

MECE TECH LLC · B2B SaaS

Recruited and managed a team of developers to build full-stack web applications (Node.js).
Designed, developed, and deployed 3 multi-service Node.js / MariaDB web applications.

Products

Government — AURA

Procurement tool shaped by 50+ hours of customer validation interviews. Built with custom backend/frontend, then advanced to a reliable AI-assisted development workflow. Deployed on AWS with Terraform IaC for budget controls and FinOps tagging.

Small business — Castle

Rapid-prototyped with Cursor to help blue-collar businesses scale. Stripe, geolocation, and Google Calendar integrations. Deployed to AWS; connected mobile app in progress.

Creators — Vectorizer

Redesigned an existing web app with a modern UI and built out vector-graphics features, including an SVG vector graphics editor for content creators.

Apr 2022 — Jan 2025

Co-founder (CTO & CEO)

CounSil LLC · B2B SaaS

As PM, led 100+ customer discovery and validation interviews with high-ranking military leadership and staff (lean methodology).
As CEO, point-back planned deliverable deadlines, drafted funding proposals, generated stakeholder reports, and drove execution urgency.
As CTO, recruited and managed developers to build a full-stack .NET web application.
As sales lead, earned support of users at AF installations through dedicated problem validation, preparation, and respect.

Aug 2020 — May 2022

Founder

Ponica LLC · B2C

As CTO, designed and produced complex automated indoor growing systems for fruiting vegetables.
As PO, led problem validation, business plan creation, and financial projections — winning $1,000 at a business plan competition.
As COO, developed a supply chain to deliver the bill of materials.

Apr 2021 — Aug 2021

Entrepreneurial Fellow (NSIN X-Force)

Ellsworth Air Force Base · Mission Support Group

Conducted thorough problem discovery with Ellsworth personnel and interviewed leading experts in energy resiliency to produce an in-depth assessment of vulnerabilities and remedies.
Developed decision-making tools for Ellsworth’s energy resiliency, resulting in identification and support of 4 SBIR defense contracts.

Aug 2019 — May 2023

Researcher

CalxAqua · On-site mine water remediation

Prepared and monitored column and batch water filtration experiments for arsenic and selenate removal.
Designed experiments to isolate variables and ensure actionable next steps.
Created graphics and tables from data and delivered reports and presentations to customers.

Recognition

Achievements

2023 1st place — Governor’s Giant Vision Business Plan Competition
2022 Wildfire Labs LLC Accelerator
2022 DLAB Tenant & Fellowship
2021 H4D & X-Force Graduate

Capabilities

Skills

Languages & stack

HTML / CSS / JavaScript
Node.js
MariaDB / SQL
Bash
Terraform

Other

Figma design
Excel / Visual Basic
Problem validation
AWS deployment & FinOps
Customer discovery (lean)

Education

Formal education

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Baccalaureate of Science in Chemical Engineering

May 2023 · Undergraduate researcher · Full-ride scholarship for master’s offered

What I build now

MECE TECH products

Distinct audiences, distinct problems — one shared design philosophy.

Government

AURA

Workflow and operations tools built for government teams — structured, auditable, and designed around how public-sector work actually happens.

Explore AURA →

Small business

Castle

Operations and consulting software for small businesses — practical tools that help owners run their companies with less friction.

Explore Castle →

Creators

Vectorizer

Design tools for content creators — turning ideas into clean, usable assets without unnecessary complexity.

Explore Vectorizer →

Let's build something together

Whether you're exploring our products or interested in a custom engagement — I'd love to hear from you.