Test Double acquires Pathfinder to revolutionize product and software consulting

Test Double is now over 100 Double Agents strong, offers even more comprehensive software and product consulting, and there’s a cool story behind the news.

From their first meeting, Test Double’s Todd Kaufman and Pathfinder’s Brett Buchanan discovered a shared vision for solving product challenges with technology. As consultancies that have also maintained sustainable growth amidst a challenging economic environment, this felt like a great match.

Test Double’s mission is to improve the way the world builds software. We’ve done that by building great teams and great software—with a special focus on building things right.

Pathfinder Product’s mission is to unleash greatness through modern product management. They’ve done that by being passionate problem solvers—with a special focus on building the right thing.

Today marks the beginning of a new strategic path forward as the 100% employee-owned Test Double acquires Pathfinder, setting the stage for an enriched offering in product and software development consulting. The deal harnesses the combined expertise of Test Double and Pathfinder leadership to create comprehensive end-to-end solutions in modern software creation and product management—guided by a shared vision of building the right solution the right way.

“We are extremely excited to join forces with Brett and the rest of the team at Pathfinder. The acquisition allows us to provide exceptional product management consulting to the high-trust relationships of our existing clients, and we look forward to collaborating on software development challenges with their clients.”
  — Todd Kaufman, Test Double Co-founder & CEO

“Joining forces with Test Double marks a significant milestone for both our teams. Our shared ethos of delivering exceptional value and fostering high-trust relationships with clients is the foundation of this partnership. Together, we will redefine the standards of product and software development consulting, creating a powerhouse of solutions across the entire product lifecycle. This is a thrilling new chapter for us, our clients, and the industry.”
  — Brett Buchanan, Pathfinder Founder & CEO

Uniting strengths: A fusion of expertise

Our partnership is more than a merger; it’s a blend of our unique strengths to achieve new goals. Like puzzle pieces fitting perfectly together, the fusion of Test Double’s expertise in software development with Pathfinder’s acumen in modern product management creates a formidable consultancy powerhouse. By offering comprehensive consulting services across both software and product management we are better able to serve and delight our clients.

We are united by a shared vision of delivering exceptional value to our clients. This alliance enables us to offer a broader spectrum of services, covering every facet of the product lifecycle—from ideation to delivery, and beyond.

Together, we empower businesses with comprehensive consulting solutions

• Custom Software Development: Build software products from scratch focusing on speed to value and keeping your systems maintainable
• Rapid Idea to Launch: Streamline the journey from concept to market with idea validation and accelerated development cycle to deliver the right value swiftly and efficiently
• Product Innovation with Technology: Develop a smart approach to invest in new technologies and deliver innovative market solutions with help from our experienced product coaches and consultants
• Accelerate Delivery: Hit today’s deadlines and develop strategies to attain tomorrow’s goals with senior consultants who embed with your team to speed up software delivery
• Legacy Refresh: Avoid expensive rewrites by renovating existing systems and leveraging automated testing techniques for more maintainable software that enable you to seize true business value
• Product Discovery and Delivery Alignment: Align product discovery with agile delivery processes, ensuring that the product roadmap is consistently informed by user research and market validation
• Cohesive Product Strategy: Create strategy and roadmaps that integrate both product milestones and technology advancements, ensuring the two are in sync for smoother product evolution
• Mastering Agile Product Teams: Level up your team with help on everything from coaching on new skills and behaviors to strategy assists from highly experienced product and technical consultants
• Strategic Full Stack Recruiting: Build software and product teams with holistic recruiting services—from executives to product managers and full stack developers to platform engineers
• Upgrade and Modernize: Keep business critical applications secure, stable, and on supported versions based on a body of knowledge on how to upgrade while avoiding risks
• Holistic DevOps: Achieve more predictable costs and secure, observable infrastructure that can be maintained by anyone on your team while providing better decision making at all levels
• Technical & Product Assessments: Uncover blockers and areas for targeted improvements, as well as bright spots you can amplify to better enable success

This cross-section of focus areas enables software engineering, product, DevOps, talent, and more for companies where software and product play a business critical role. Key clients for the two consultancies have included GitHub, Gusto, Chime, ZipRecruiter, Levi’s, Kroger, Procter & Gamble, and Mailchimp—among many others.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your team solve the hardest problems, contact us to get a conversation started.