A fractional CTO who still writes the code.
Early companies need someone senior making the technical calls long before they can afford a full-time CTO. Which stack, which vendors, build or buy, who to hire first, and whether that AI feature is a product or a demo. I make those calls for my own companies as a founder and lead engineer, and I still write production code, so the advice comes from knowing what things cost to build.
Fractional CTO
Sounds like you if
- You're a non-technical founder and every technical decision feels like a guess
- You have a developer or an agency, but nobody senior checking their work
- You're about to hire your first engineers and don't know what good looks like
- Investors are asking technical questions you'd like better answers to
- You want AI in the product and need someone to separate the useful from the hype
Tools on the bench
- Technical leadership
- Python
- FastAPI
- Next.js
- PostgreSQL
- LLM systems
- AWS
- Azure
How I’d handle it
The job, step by step.
- 01
Get the lay of the land
A close look at the product, the code, the team and the plan. You get a written view of where you stand and the three or four decisions that matter most right now.
- 02
Lead on a retainer
Set time each month for the roadmap, architecture, vendor and build-or-buy calls, code review, and the conversations that need a technical voice in the room.
- 03
Build the team
Help writing roles, interviewing and levelling engineers, so when you do hire full time you hire well, and the handover is easy.
What you walk away with.
- 01Technical strategy and a roadmap you can explain to investors
- 02Architecture and vendor decisions, written down with the reasoning
- 03Hiring help: sourcing, interviewing and levelling engineers
- 04Reviews of your team's or your agency's code and architecture
- 05A clear AI plan: what to build, what to buy and what to ignore
Shipped, not just pitched.
Products of mine where the same work is running for real users.
Questions people ask first.
How much time does a fractional CTO spend with us?
It depends on your stage. Most retainers are a set number of days a month, agreed up front and adjusted as you grow. The price is scoped on the first call.
Will you write code as well?
If it helps, yes. Some founders want hands on the keyboard for the hardest part of the product, others only want reviews and decisions. Both work.
Can you work alongside our agency or freelancers?
Yes. A lot of the value is reviewing their work, asking the questions you wouldn't know to ask, and making sure you own your code and your accounts.
What happens when we hire a full-time CTO?
That's the goal. I'll help you hire them, then hand over everything: the decisions, the documentation and the context behind them.
Where are you based?
Northampton, UK. I work remotely with teams anywhere in the world.
Other jobs I take on