Person · engineer · founder

A real life. Real constraints. Work that had to hold.

I am a real person with a real life — this is my space to mention it in a way I think matters. I also build things I believe improve people’s situations, because I built them to improve mine under nearly impossible circumstances.

This site is personal — who I am, how I got here, how to reach me. The product, research, and institutional paths live at thecognitionfactory.com.

John Hekmati

What matters enough to put here

I am not a brand avatar. I’m an electrical engineer by training (digital signal processing — find what always holds, then pressure-test the weak links). I later took on accounting credentials and enterprise systems work: Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain consulting, with depth across SAP and Oracle environments. Those rooms punish fuzzy explanations — exams and client work alike.

I trained seriously in martial arts for years — taekwondo in a traditional line (watch the real pattern, build a load-accurate model, then prove it under belt tests, sparring, and competition). That habit never left: truth first, robust model second, embody until the body believes it. No pedigree theater — just formation that stuck.

At home I’m a father of five. Three of our children have complex care plans. That isn’t a pitch. It’s the operating reality that shaped how I design: methods have to survive interruption, incomplete attention, and hard deadlines. If it only works in a quiet four-hour block, it doesn’t work.

The question I optimize for. Can you still do the work a month later — or did you only finish the material?

How I got here

Five chapters. Each raised the cost of unclear structure — and of methods that don’t survive real load.

  • 1 · Engineering Signal-processing work: isolate what is solid, then stress what isn’t.
  • 2 · Martial arts Years on the floor: pattern → mental model → body under pressure. Same machine as good engineering, different domain.
  • 3 · Real constraints Family and care logistics ruled out anything that only works without interruption. Clean restarts became mandatory, not nice-to-have.
  • 4 · Hard domains Accounting and ERP delivery — where vague understanding shows up under exam pressure and in production systems.
  • 5 · Building Tools I needed when the calendar was loud and the stakes were high — then productized so others under load can use the same loop.

A few non-negotiables

  • Truth before comfort Start from what actually holds — not what feels finished.
  • Prove it under pressure Closed notes when it counts. Sparring, exams, and client rooms don’t grade “I’ve seen this.”
  • Survive interruption Leave a clean handoff. Next-time-you should not pay restart tax.
  • Build for my load first If it doesn’t help under nearly impossible circumstances, I don’t ship it as a virtue for someone else.

What I build

I build tools that improve people’s situations when time, money, and attention are scarce — because I needed those tools in mine. Not more content. Structure, honest practice, and continuity when life interrupts.

The Cognition Factory

Founder

A system for upskilling that sticks: map the subject, practice under real pressure, save your place when the day ends. For busy adults and for institutions that need skill on the job — not hours logged.

Full product, research, and how to engage live on the factory site. This page is who built it and why — not a second product homepage.

thecognitionfactory.com →

Earlier craft: enterprise systems consulting (Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain; SAP and Oracle depth). Useful for how I think about precision under load — not the main story here.

Get in touch

A short note is enough — who you are, what you’re trying to do, and what constraints are real. I read for fit, not volume.

hello@johnhekmati.com

Product, partnerships, or institutional paths? Use the form on The Cognition Factory