Social platform · Web, iOS, and Android · 2018–2022
Who’s making the technical calls? We make them with you, for a set term.
A senior technical leader at the table for two quarters, then a review. We make the calls with your team, write them down with the reasons, and stand behind them in front of investors.
- Term
- Two quarters, then review
- Price
- A fixed monthly fee, quoted after the evaluation
- You leave with
- Decisions made and written down, and a team that can carry them.
When to bring us in
The calls got bigger, and nobody owns them.
Most companies reach a point where the technical decisions outgrow the people making them, and a full-time CTO is too early, or too far off.
Investors keep asking technical questions we can’t answer well.
Our developers want one stack.
We’re not sure it’s the right one.The server bill is growing faster than we are.
Leadership asks for one thing,
and engineering builds another.The team is busy,
and the product isn’t moving.
How it runs
Two quarters, then a review.
A set term keeps the role clear. The judgment is senior, everything is written down, and the team can carry it once we step back.
- Month 1
01
Learn the ground
The product, the team, the code, the bills, and the plans. We find the decisions that matter most, and the ones already made by accident.
The calls that matter - Months 2–5
02
Make the calls
The stack, the vendors, the hires, and what to build next, made with your team and written down with the reasons. And beside you when investors ask.
Decisions, written down - Month 6
03
Review
What we decided, what it changed, and what comes next. Then we agree whether you need another term, a full-time hire, or neither.
Renew, hire, or step back
You leave with
Decisions that outlast the term.
The goal is a team that can make these calls without us. So we write each one down, with the reasons, for whoever comes next.
Decisions, with their reasons
Each big call written down, with what we chose, what we didn’t, and what it costs, so nobody has to guess later.
A foundation investors trust
Technology an investor’s technical advisor will recognise, and answers ready for due diligence.
A bill sized to the runway
Infrastructure, vendors, and team costs that match the stage you’re at, and how long the money has to last.
A team that can carry it
Engineers and partners who know why things are built the way they are. When it’s time, the brief for a full-time CTO.
What it isn’t: an open-ended retainer, or a name on a slide.
Where we’ve done this
The hard part was the trade-off.
Two startups where every technical call was weighed against growth, the runway, and what investors would ask.
Pharmaceutical data startup · Stealth · 2023
They asked for help with their technical decisions.Investors wanted proof, not a pitch.
Read the case study: Pharmaceutical AI startupHow it starts
Most engagements start with the evaluation.
A conversation, then a two-week evaluation. If you need a technical leader at the table, the evaluation will say so.
First
A conversation
Bring the question you can’t quite phrase yet. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so, and point you to who is.
Not a pitch
Then
Strategy evaluation
Two weeks on the plan, the product, or the AI idea. You get a recommendation, the trade-offs behind it, and which engagement you need, if any.
Two weeks · $7,500 fixed
If it’s the right step
Fractional CTO
Two quarters at the table, at a fixed monthly fee quoted from what the evaluation found.
Two quarters, then review This page
Questions
Fair questions.
How much of your time do we get?
It follows the work. There’s more around a fundraise, a launch, or a big hire, and less in between. The fee stays the same, so you never weigh a question against the clock.
Will you talk to our investors?
Yes. We’ll explain how the product is built and how it will scale, in the pitch and in due diligence.
Will you build it too?
We can, but that’s Delivery, with its own scope and price. Keeping them apart means the calls are made for the business, not for the build.
What happens at the review?
We look at what we decided and what it changed, and agree what’s next. That might be another term, a full-time hire we help you find, or stepping back.
Services
Three other ways in.
Each starts with the problem you can see.
Strategy evaluation
Not sure where to start?
Two weeks · $7,500 fixedHow it works
01Systems architecture
How should it all fit together?
Six weeks · fixed priceHow it works
02Delivery
Who’s going to build it?
Fixed scope, in phasesHow it works
Talk it through
Bring the question you can’t quite phrase yet.
That’s usually the right place to start.
A conversation, not a pitch. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so, and point you to who is.