About
Zach Shallbetter.
I work on consequential problems before they have a specification. I find what the outcome actually depends on, give it structure, and make what the problem requires.
Spokane, WA Designer → Engineer → Founder
20 yrs
across software, AI, commerce, and physical product
2×
companies co-founded — Uxiliary, Cursed Crypt
330%
of Kickstarter goal funded for Cursed Crypt
41+
projects in the catalog, with 31 essays alongside
Evidence & limits
Funding figures describe the historical campaign and financing, not revenue or profitability. Counts of catalog entries describe artifacts, not adoption.
Founder & Chief Product Officer, Cursed Crypt, May 2018 – Sep 2022. Kickstarter cleared a $30K goal at ~330% (~$100K on-platform plus ~$75K direct presales), followed by ~$500K seed. Built an end-to-end just-in-time manufacturing line that ran largely autonomously.
stated · Observation date not established
Author-confirmed account. Funding is not revenue, profitability, or continuing operation. The company has closed.
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What I do.
The breadth isn’t the point. It lets me own problems that normally fracture across strategy, product, design, and engineering. Software, AI, commerce, and physical production are materials for the work; the commitment tells me which ones matter.
That makes me most useful while the representation and architecture are still being discovered. Once the system is understood, the goal is transfer and repeatability. Build the machine that builds the thing — then make it operable without depending indefinitely on its maker.
How I form systems → · Commerce and market records →
Lead areas
Product leadershipDesign & UXApplied AISystems architectureCommerce & paymentsFrontend & interfacePhysical productionMethodology Where the work fits.
Useful when
- The outcome matters and the system is not obvious.
- The work crosses product, design, and engineering.
- A prototype or failed implementation needs a credible path to operation.
- Nobody owns the complete critical path.
Less useful when
- The problem is fully specified and the primary need is implementation capacity.
- The job is primarily coordination inside a large organization.
- There is no authority to change the underlying system.
Experience.
May – August 2026
Contract Developer, SWAIA
Contract Developer, SWAIA, May–August 2026. Built and delivered the Artist Directory — the system of record for Santa Fe Indian Market, covering roughly 2,500 artist records and 14,900 artworks.
Evidence & limits
Contract Developer, SWAIA, May–August 2026. Built and delivered the Artist Directory — the system of record for Santa Fe Indian Market, covering roughly 2,500 artist records and 14,900 artworks.
org-internal · Recorded 2026-08-26
Repeat engagement and delivered system. Counts describe the recorded system, not current users or adoption. This evidence does not establish completed infrastructure handoff.
Artist Directory repository (access may be restricted) ↗
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2025 – 2026
Director / Creative Engineer, Colormatics
Director / Creative Engineer at Colormatics; built video-AI tooling and shipped web platform work.
Evidence & limits
Director / Creative Engineer at Colormatics; built video-AI tooling and shipped web platform work.
org-internal · Recorded 2026-08-31
Organizational contribution evidence. Web platform delivery does not establish production use of the video prototypes.
Inspect the public claim record →
2023 – 2024
Principal Architect & Designer, SWAIA
Architected and designed an Indigenous-art commerce platform on Next.js, Supabase, and Stripe Connect; built recommendation, search, and conversational-assist features directly, early in the applied-AI cycle.
2022 – 2023
Assistant Professor, Web & UX, North Idaho College
Built and taught an interdisciplinary web and UX/UI curriculum that lifted enrollment ~20%; started a student-run consultancy and industry internship pipelines.
2018 – 2022
Founder & Chief Product Officer, Cursed Crypt
Tabletop-gaming hardware company. Kickstarter cleared its goal at ~330% (~$100K on-platform + ~$75K presales), followed by ~$500K in seed capital. Stood up an autonomous just-in-time manufacturing line, including a nano-ceramic-coated magnetic game board.
2014 – 2020
Co-Founder & Creative Developer, Uxiliary
Digital product and design studio; led a team of ten-plus. Client web products and brand experiences, delivered directly and through agency partners. Individual client receipts remain to be established.
2015 – 2020
President & Co-Founder, Inland Northwest Technologists
Regional tech nonprofit: 50+ volunteers, 200+ events, a municipal-broadband initiative carried to a unanimous council vote. Mayoral Award for community leadership.
2007 – 2013
Earlier — 14Four & OpenEye
Front-end and web roles on national-brand campaigns (GE, GM, Adobe, Gilead, Celebrity Cruises) through agencies including AKQA and Mekanism.
Recognition.
- Gold Award, AMCP Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, for the Gilead interactive annual report.
- AAF & Ad Club of Spokane American Advertising Federation awards for design and innovation.
- Mayoral Award for community leadership in the Spokane technology ecosystem.
- SBA Emerging Leaders Small Business Administration executive education program.
Let's make something real.