Founder Advisory

Jay
& I.

As Lead Product Strategist at Appetiser Apps, Jay brings rigorous product thinking and real founder experience to builders shaping what's next.

Connected to Appetiser Apps
Jay Kralik
Jay Kralik
Product Strategist · Founder · Advisor
JI Founders
Services

The full founder journey.
Not just one lane.

From raw idea to investable business — structured advisory across every stage that matters.

01 — Foundation

Idea Validation

Cut through assumptions before they cost you. Real market signals, honest pressure-testing, and a clear verdict on what's worth building — before you spend a dollar.

02 — Product

Product Strategy

Roadmap prioritisation, MVP scoping, design-to-market fit. Backed by 200+ shipped products and a team behind some of the region's biggest digital success stories.

03 — Funding

Investment Readiness

Pitch decks that land, narratives that hold up under scrutiny. Built by someone who has raised capital, evaluated deals, and sat on both sides of the table.

04 — Growth

Commercialisation

Unit economics, pricing architecture, go-to-market sequencing. Built to generate revenue and margin — not just users and noise.

05 — Leadership

Founder Coaching

Decision fatigue, co-founder friction, the psychology of building under pressure. The work no one talks about — but that determines everything.

06 — Ongoing

Trusted Advisor

A fractional co-founder in your corner. One call away. Genuinely invested in your outcome — not just the next session.

Not sure which service fits? Start with a conversation.
Tell Jay what you're building. He'll tell you what you actually need.
Book a Free Clarity Call →
200+
Products shipped
$202M
Appetiser portfolio IPO
3
Continents
10+
Years in product
Free tools

Start somewhere useful.

3 min · Free

Founder
Diagnostic

8 questions. A personalised strategic report grounded in real founder patterns.

Take the diagnostic
2 min · Free

Valuation
Calculator

Instant valuation range for your digital product. Built for ambitious founders.

Calculate your valuation
The JI philosophy

We're not selling a project. We're becoming trusted advisors to founders who mean it.

The old model was transactional. JI Founders exists because the best founders need more than that — someone genuinely invested in their success across validation, fundraising, strategy, and the psychology of building. That's not a vendor. That's a partner.

About

Jay Kralik

Jay Kralik
10+ years in product
Juraj "Jay" Kralik
Lead Product Strategist · Founder · Advisor
Founder first

Jay isn't just an advisor — he's a founder. He has raised capital, felt the weight of a cap table, and knows what it means to back an idea with everything you have.

Both sides of the table

As Head of Product at Threshold Capital, Jay evaluated and invested in growing SMEs — learning exactly what makes a business worth backing. While doing that, he was also founding Fintech Hub Europe, building from scratch himself. He knows what it feels like to pitch. And what it takes to get invested, as he's seen it from both sides.

The Appetiser connection

Lead Product Strategist at Appetiser Apps — founded by Michael MacRae and Jamie Shostak — working on multi-million dollar products daily. From Central Europe to Australia and Indonesia. Two continents. One approach.

In their words

Founders and colleagues
who've worked with Jay.

"Jay is one of the sharpest strategic minds I've worked with. He doesn't just understand product — he understands how to build businesses around them. Having him in the Appetiser orbit has been genuinely valuable."

Michael MacRae
Michael MacRaeDirector & Founder · Appetiser Apps

"Jay brings a level of commercial rigour to founder conversations that most advisors simply don't have. He's been on both sides of the table — and it shows in how precisely he identifies what actually matters."

Jamie Shostak
Jamie ShostakFounder · Appetiser Apps

"Jay pushes me on what's actually possible — not what's comfortable. Our conversations always end with me thinking bigger. That kind of creative pressure from someone who also knows how to execute is rare."

Jarrod Macfarlane
Jarrod MacfarlaneFounder · Rebelled

"Working with Jay gave us the structure we were missing. He has a way of translating ambition into a real plan — and he's not afraid to challenge your assumptions before you spend money on the wrong ones."

Sana Tayyab
Sana Tayyab2x Founder

"Jay was my co-founder and Head of Product at Threshold Capital. He thinks at a level most people take years to reach — combining investor logic with product intuition in a way that consistently unlocked better decisions for our portfolio."

Martin Bodocky
Martin BodockyFounder · Threshold Capital

"Jay supported us through Fintech Hub at a critical early stage of Unchain Festival and our work with the European Fintech Association. His strategic clarity and network made a tangible difference when we needed direction most."

Cosmin Cosma
Cosmin CosmaFounder · Finqware

"Jay was with us at Fintech Hub when Flowpay was just getting started. His ability to spot the commercial gaps in an early-stage product — and help us fix them quickly — was exactly what we needed at that stage."

William Jalloul
William JalloulFounder · Flowpay

"Jay and I worked closely at Finn Ventures and his thinking was always several moves ahead. He combines strategic depth with a founder's instinct — the kind of perspective that makes you reconsider assumptions you didn't even know you were making."

Luis Perez Ureña
Luis Perez UreñaFounder · Finn Ventures

"Jay and I worked together on the Fintech Hub project in Europe. He brought a product-first mindset to an ecosystem-building challenge — and his ability to connect dots across startups, investors and strategy was something I haven't found in many people since."

Matej Ftacnik
Matej Ftacnikex-CEO · Vacuumlabs

"Jay thinks in a way that most people simply don't. He connects commercial strategy, product vision and human psychology in a single conversation — and always lands somewhere outside the box. Working with him changes how you approach problems."

Kimberley Braid
Kimberley BraidAPAC Sales Lead · Bloomreach

"Jay helped shape EisKing from Day 1. We already had the audience and the subscribers, but it was his commercial input that turned all that attention into a genuinely profitable venture. He sees the business others miss."

Stevo Eisele
Stevo EiseleF1 Commentator & Founder · EisKing

"Jay and I go back to the early days, and we have never stopped exchanging ideas since. He is the kind of person who pushes you to think bigger and then actually go build it. That energy is rare, and it is contagious."

Patrik Ruman
Patrik RumanCEO · Techband

See Jay's full recommendations

View on LinkedIn
Community

Builders who want to
change something.

Live sessions

Online Webinars

Deep-dives on what matters when building from zero — taught by people who've done it.

  • Validate before you spend a cent
  • Pitch decks that investors actually read
  • From product to profit — the commercialisation playbook
  • Founder psychology under pressure
Inquire about sessions
In person

Founder Meet-ups

Melbourne and Denpasar. Real conversations, not networking theatre. Come for the ideas.

  • Curated roundtables — small, honest, useful
  • Guest sessions with investors and operators
  • Open to all stages — idea to Series A
  • No pitching. Just building together.
Register your interest
Get in touch

Book a free
Clarity Call.

Tell Jay what you're building and where you're stuck. He'll be back within 24 hours — directly, no gatekeeping.

Connect on LinkedIn
Request received. Jay will be in touch within 24 hours.
Presence
AustraliaMelbourne · HQ
IndonesiaDenpasar · HQ
APAC & EuropeRemote · Always On