Privacy advice
Whether it's a tricky data flow, a regulatory question, or a deal about to fall apart — a clear answer, fast. No 2,000-word memos with ten options.
Trusted privacy counsel
Practical privacy advice for technology companies.
Sharp, practical, and always on your side.
Trusted by technology companies navigating complex privacy and compliance challenges.
Oyster
Grafana
Duolingo
Hudl
GC AI
Incident.io
About Carl
Tech specialist advice from someone who understands your business and your risks.
Hi, I’m Carl Gottlieb. I work with technology companies to solve privacy and compliance challenges with clarity, pragmatism and independence.
I’ve spent the last decade advising startups, scale-ups and unicorns on building responsible data practices that support growth and earn trust.
How I work
What makes this different.
Technical
I come from a security and engineering background. I can sit with your engineers, read your data flows, and spot what your legal team would miss. No translator needed.
Independent
I work across multiple companies in your sector. When you face a problem, I've probably solved it twice this month. You benefit from everyone else's lessons without paying for them.
Commercial
Privacy compliance should help you close deals, not lose them. I'll help you turn your privacy posture into a selling point — DPA readiness, trust pages, due diligence that doesn't kill momentum.
Services
Tailored privacy and compliance counsel for the way you operate.
Compliance support
A privacy programme built around how you actually operate, not how a textbook says you should. Scalable, practical, and designed to grow with you.
Fractional DPO
Need a Data Protection Officer? Part-time, full-time, or somewhere in between. Most companies are better served by the fractional model — I'll tell you honestly which is right for you.
Is this right for you?
I work best with companies that are honest about where they are.
Carl works best with B2B technology companies that:
- Are past seed stage and starting to field privacy questions from customers
- Need a technical DPO, not a form-filler
- Want direct access to an expert, not a support ticket queue
- Are happy to hear "you don't need that yet" when it's true
If you're at the very earliest stage, I'll tell you and point you in the right direction anyway. Just ask.
Email Carl →References
" I work daily with the most infuriating outside counsel. Carl is my very favorite and I am so grateful he actually makes my life easier."
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