About
From Startup Engineer to Architectural Guide
I'm Matthew Macchia, a software architect and former CTO with 20+ years building and scaling engineering teams. I've lived the pressure of rapid growth, navigated the complexity of distributed systems, and led teams from startup chaos to enterprise stability. Now, I help engineering leaders avoid the mistakes I made and build systems that scale with confidence.
Career Timeline
The Journey: From Code to Leadership
1999-2009: Foundation Years
Early team member at pivotal web startups
Started my career at the dawn of the internet boom, joining early teams at companies like Doubleclick, Hotwire.com, and Babycenter. Part of the founding engineering team that built Hotwire.com, one of the first major travel booking platforms.
Key Learning: Saw firsthand how to build scalable systems from scratch and what happens when you don't plan for growth.
2009-2014: CTO at Hometown Quotes
Scaled a lead generation platform from inception to $14M revenue
Led all technology as CTO, growing the team to 33 employees and building a real-time arbitrage marketplace. Designed and maintained the entire platform, implementing distributed systems that processed millions of leads.
Key Learning: Growth reveals every architectural weakness. Technical debt compounds faster than you think.
2014-2019: CEO/CTO at AdFury
Bootstrapped a PPC automation platform to profitability
Built and led a SaaS platform from concept to profitable exit, forging partnerships with Unbounce and SEMRush. Became a thought leader in PPC campaign management, securing over 1,000 webinar and podcast viewers.
Key Learning: Product-market fit matters more than perfect architecture, but you still need solid foundations.
2019-2024: VP/Director at Scale
Led engineering at high-growth companies
Great Heights Inc.: VP of Engineering - Delivered e-commerce MVP in 8 months
Audacy Inc.: Director of Engineering - Managed CMS platform supporting 1M+ daily users
IBM: Technical Consultant - Led NextGen Lighthouse platform, evangelized modern cloud architecture
EventStoreDB: VP of Engineering - Managed 40+ engineers and $2.5M budget, improved database performance 20%
Key Learning: Leadership scales differently than code. Culture and process matter as much as architecture.
2024-Present: Eventual Tsunami
Bringing architectural clarity to teams that need it most
Founded Eventual Tsunami to help engineering teams navigate the exact challenges I've faced: scaling systems, managing technical debt, and building teams that ship with confidence. Combining hands-on technical expertise with senior leadership experience to guide teams from chaos to clarity.
Mission: Help teams build the systems they wish they had from day one.
Lessons from the Trenches
What 20+ Years Has Taught Me
Hard-Won Wisdom
These lessons weren't learned from books - they came from shipping code at 2am, managing outages, leading difficult conversations, and watching systems buckle under growth. Every mistake I made taught me something I now use to help teams avoid the same fate.Tech Debt Is Inevitable, Unmanaged Debt Is Deadly
Every system accumulates debt. The difference between healthy growth and collapse is whether you manage it intentionally or let it manage you.
Rewrites Rarely Work
I've seen teams bet the company on a rewrite, only to recreate the same problems. Refactoring with a clear roadmap beats starting from scratch.
Architecture Should Enable Speed, Not Prevent It
Good architecture makes it easier to ship features, not harder. If your team is slowing down, the architecture is part of the problem.
Leadership Is a Force Multiplier
A senior technical leader who has lived through scaling challenges can save years of painful mistakes. Experience compounds.
The Story Behind the Name
Why 'Eventual Tsunami'?
A Name With Meaning
The name reflects both my deep expertise in event sourcing and distributed systems, and the transformative impact of bringing clarity to chaotic systems. When teams work with me, they don't just get tactical fixes - they get a fundamental shift in how they approach architecture and scale.Event Sourcing Roots
The name is a play on "eventual consistency" - a core concept in distributed systems and event-driven architecture.
The Moment of Clarity
Like a tsunami, technical problems often build gradually beneath the surface before making catastrophic impact. I help teams see them coming.
From Chaos to Order
Just as a tsunami reshapes the landscape, I help teams fundamentally transform their architecture from fragile to resilient.
Thought Leadership
Beyond Consulting: Contributing to the Community
Sharing What I've Learned
I believe in giving back to the community that taught me. Through speaking, open source, and writing, I share the patterns, practices, and hard-won lessons that help teams build better systems.Conference Speaking
Delivered technical talks at QCon SF, QCon London, and DevCon Mauritius, focusing on event sourcing, CQRS, and distributed systems architecture.
Open Source: Dewdrop Framework
Architected and maintained an open-source Java framework for Domain-Driven Design (DDD), CQRS, and Event Sourcing - improving developer productivity by 32% through clean APIs and extensive documentation.
Technical Writing
Regular contributor of articles on stabilizing systems, modernizing architecture, and scaling with confidence.
Industry Partnerships
Forged strategic partnerships with EventStoreDB and engaged in iterative feedback loops with the developer community.
My Approach
How I Work With Teams
Built on Respect and Results
I've been in your shoes - facing impossible deadlines, defending technical decisions to the board, and worrying about whether the system will hold together. I bring empathy, experience, and a bias toward action that gets results.I Meet You Where You Are
No judgment, no shame. I respect the hard work that got you here and focus on what needs to happen next.
Pragmatic Over Perfect
I prioritize solutions that work in your context, not theoretical ideals that look good on paper.
Technology-Agnostic
I don't evangelize specific tools. I help you choose the right technology for your goals, not my preferences.
Hands-On When Needed
I maintain an active coding practice. When the situation calls for it, I can roll up my sleeves and write code alongside your team.
Outcome-Focused
Every engagement has clear deliverables and measurable results. You'll know exactly what you're getting.
Transfer Knowledge
I don't create dependency. I teach your team to solve problems themselves so they're stronger after I leave.
Ready to Bring Clarity to Your System?
If you're facing the scaling challenges I've navigated, let's talk. A short conversation can reveal what's holding you back and how to move forward with confidence.