Developer Spotlight

“You can’t have it all, and that’s okay. The myth that startup engineering teams can move fast, stay small and hit every compliance and security target without tradeoffs doesn’t hold up.”

Sean Hellebusch is Head of Engineering at Assemble, where he’s helping transform how frontline nursing leadership teams deliver care by reducing their administrative burden. His team is small, the stakes are high, and the industry is one of the most regulated in the world.

Sean’s approach? Stay small. Ship fast. Focus on what actually matters.

Here’s his advice for other small teams like his own 👇

1. Focus your energy where it counts 🎯

Trying to do everything (move fast, stay compliant, build infra in-house) is a trap. You’ll either slow down or drop the ball.

”The myth that you can move fast, stay small, and hit every compliance and security target without tradeoffs doesn’t hold up. We choose to focus our energy on what differentiates us: our product.”


2. Build what’s essential. Ignore what’s not ✌️

Every engineering decision at Assemble gets measured against one thing: does this reduce the burden on frontline nursing leadership?

”You don’t win by rebuilding commodity tooling. You win by obsessing over your core product experience. If you’re burning engineering cycles maintaining what you could have purchased, you’re already behind.”


3. Use Aptible to multiply your output 🚀

Aptible handles the operational layers Assemble doesn’t want to own—so the team can stay focused and ship faster.

”Aptible has been a force multiplier. They handle the operational layers in a way that’s clean, scalable, and reliable. This is my second time using Aptible at startups, and I’d make the same choice again.


4. Small teams can move at enterprise scale 🏃

With genAI and the right systems in place, small teams are no longer at a disadvantage. Sean’s team treats documentation as an interface for both humans and machines.

”It’s no longer about headcount; it’s about systems that make small teams effective. When machines can navigate your docs, everything accelerates.”


Staying small isn’t a compromise. It’s a strategy.