Ways to work together
Every engagement is led by me, personally, for growth-stage companies. Most clients start with a ~1-week Diagnostic and grow into ongoing leadership from there — but you can enter at whatever level fits.
AI-Augmented Technology Diagnostic
Start here · ~1 week
A fixed-scope, ~1-week sprint. I assess your technology, team, architecture, and roadmap — AI-augmented, so nothing gets skimmed — and hand you a written, prioritized plan you own, whether or not we go further. It's the low-risk way in, and how most engagements start.
Best for: Founders who want clarity — or a second opinion — before committing to a monthly gear.
You get: A structured assessment and an actionable plan you own, whether or not we work together further.
Format: Fixed fee, fixed scope, ~1 week.
CTO on Call
On-ramp · on demand
A senior sanity-check for the expensive-to-reverse calls — architecture, build-vs-buy, 'are we using AI right?' — with a human who owns the answer.
Best for: Pre-seed and earliest-stage founders not ready for a full engagement.
Format: Monthly membership.
Advisory
Lightest ongoing gear
Roadmap and architecture guidance, the investor/board technical story, and light oversight of an existing team or vendor — senior judgment at the moments that matter.
Best for: Leaders who have a team but need senior judgment at key moments.
Format: Monthly retainer.
Embedded
The flagship
I own the architecture and the technical roadmap, direct the AI-augmented build, manage the team and vendors, and translate tech into business outcomes for the board.
Best for: Funded startups that need a CTO's judgment before they can justify a CTO's salary.
You get: One accountable executive, engaged monthly, focused on outcomes.
Format: Monthly retainer.
Interim
Near-full-time, defined-term
Full leadership coverage through a transition, a critical build, or the gap before a permanent hire — with a clear mandate and a hand-off plan.
Best for: PE/VC portfolio companies and teams facing a gap or a high-stakes stretch.
You get: A defined-term commitment with a clear mandate and hand-off plan.
Format: Defined term.
What I bring to every engagement
- Scaling engineering organizations — Org design, hiring, distributed teams, and M&A integration, drawn from taking a team from two to 150+ through multiple acquisitions.
- Architecture, cloud & data platforms — Scalable, reliable systems, primarily on AWS; cloud migration and modernization without betting the company.
- Regulated data & security — SOC 2, and building for insurance, healthcare, and government where compliance is a first-class requirement.
- Legacy & real-world integration — The hard problems at the seams, in integration-heavy and industrial environments.
- AI you can't afford to get wrong — Reshaping how your team builds, with current models and agentic tools, and an honest read on where AI helps and where it doesn’t — the same judgment I used to build Pilot for Trades solo with AI in ~6 months.
Not sure which fits?
Book a call and tell me what's going on — I'll tell you straight whether, and how, I can help, and what the right first step is.