I keep this simple and honest.
Every engagement starts the same way: I understand the business before I touch the code, then I run an AI-augmented diagnostic of your technology, team, and roadmap, and hand you a written, prioritized plan you own. AI lets me read more, faster, and go deeper than a traditional review — but a human stands behind every call in the plan. From there we right-size the engagement to how often the high-stakes decisions actually come up: CTO on Call, Advisory, Embedded, or Interim.
How the engagement works — one front door, gears you shift
Think of it as an ecosystem, not a ladder: one front door and a few gears, and we match the gear to where your business actually is. You can step on or off at any point.
- Start at the front door — the AI-Augmented Technology Diagnostic. A fixed-scope, ~1-week look at where you stand, ending in a written plan. Low commitment, fast, useful on its own — and it tells us which gear you need.
- Shift into the ongoing gear that fits — CTO on Call, Advisory, Embedded, or Interim. From an on-demand sanity-check for the earliest-stage calls, to full ownership of the architecture and the roadmap. (“Fractional CTO” is the umbrella for these gears, not a separate tier.)
- Change gears as your state changes. Dial up to Embedded or Interim for a critical stretch; dial down to Advisory or CTO on Call as your team matures and needs my judgment at key moments rather than day to day.
You're not climbing a hierarchy — you're getting the right amount of executive capacity for your current state, and changing gears as that state changes. The healthiest direction is down: a good engagement reduces how much of me you need over time, not more. (More on this in Fractional, Interim, or Advisory.)
What the first 30 days look like
Whether it's the AI-Augmented Technology Diagnostic or a fractional start, I begin the same way: understand the business, look hard at the technology, the team, and the roadmap, find what's actually broken or at risk, and come back with a prioritized plan. Specifics before opinions.
How I operate
- Hands-on, always. I'm in the architecture and the decisions, not just the deck.
- One throat to choke. I own the outcome across strategy, delivery, infrastructure, and security.
- Honest about AI. I build with it daily and will tell you where it earns its keep and where it's hype.
- Building toward your independence. I set you up to hire and hand off to a full-time CTO when the time is right.
Pricing
Pricing is matched to the gear and your stage, and we settle it on the scoping call. The structure:
- AI-Augmented Technology Diagnostic — fixed fee, fixed scope, ~1 week.
- CTO on Call — a monthly membership.
- Advisory / Embedded — a monthly retainer sized to the gear.
- Interim — a defined-term commitment.
Ready when you are.
Book a call and we'll figure out which gear fits — and whether to kick off with an AI-Augmented Technology Diagnostic.