Technical co-founder energy. Zero equity.
Product strategy, architecture reviews, AI integration roadmaps, hiring plans, and hands-on engineering. We help funded startups make the right technical bets — and avoid the expensive wrong ones.
60+ Years Combined Experience
Our founding team has built and scaled systems at Google, Amazon, and Meta. You get that pattern recognition applied to your startup.
No Equity, No Commitment
Project-based or month-to-month. No equity asks, no long-term contracts. If we're not adding value, stop.
Hands-On, Not Just Advice
We write code, review PRs, and ship features. This isn't management consulting with a slide deck — it's engineering leadership.
Right Tool, Not Just AI
We don't default to AI for everything. We help you identify where AI genuinely adds value, where traditional engineering is the better fit, and where you should just buy off the shelf.
The $500K Mistake Most Funded Startups Make
You raised a Series A. You need to ship features fast. So you hire three engineers, spin up infrastructure, and start building. Six months later you have a demo that works locally but can't handle production traffic, a team burned out from scope creep, and a board asking why you spent half a million dollars without shipping. We've seen this play out at dozens of startups — with AI features, search infrastructure, platform rebuilds, you name it. The fix isn't hiring less — it's knowing what to build, what to buy, and what to outsource before you start spending. Sometimes the answer is a well-tuned open-source tool, sometimes it's a custom build, sometimes it's an API. A fractional CTO helps you make that call before the money's spent.
What We Actually Do
Architecture reviews: we audit your technical stack and identify risks before they become fires. Build vs. buy analysis: should you build search in-house or use Algolia? Train your own model or use Claude via API? Self-host n8n or use Zapier? We've made these decisions at scale and know the trade-offs. AI integration roadmap: which parts of your product benefit most from AI, in what order, and with what expected ROI? Technical hiring: we help you write job specs, screen candidates, and design technical interviews for the roles you actually need. Hands-on engineering: when it makes more sense for us to build it than to hire someone, we roll up our sleeves. This isn't advisory from 10,000 feet — we write code, review PRs, and ship features alongside your team.
Who This Is For
Funded startups (Seed to Series B) that need senior technical leadership but aren't ready for a full-time CTO hire. Non-technical founders who need a trusted technical partner to validate architecture decisions and vendor choices. Growing engineering teams that need architectural guidance as they scale from 5 to 25 engineers. Companies exploring AI integration who need someone to cut through the hype and identify what's actually worth building. If you're spending more time in build-vs-buy debates than shipping product, we should talk.
Our Engagement Model
We offer two models: project-based advisory (fixed scope, fixed price — ideal for architecture reviews, AI strategy roadmaps, or specific technical decisions) and ongoing fractional CTO (typically 2–3 days per week, month-to-month — for startups that need sustained technical leadership). Both models include full access to our team's expertise across search, AI, automation, and platform engineering. You get the breadth of a CTO who's seen hundreds of tech stacks, not just the one narrow vertical your first engineering hire happened to come from.
Technology Stack
Related Case Studies
AI-Powered Enterprise Search for MENA's Largest Online Retailer
Search relevance jumped from 34% to 91% within 8 weeks. Search-driven conversion rate increased by 2.4x, and the client estimated $18M in additional annual revenue attributable to improved search quality. The system now handles Arabic, English, and Francoarabic queries natively.
RAG-Powered Customer Support for a Leading Fintech Platform
Automated ticket resolution jumped from 12% to 73%. Average resolution time dropped from 4.2 hours to 8 minutes for automated tickets. Customer satisfaction scores increased by 22 points. The client reduced support headcount costs by 40% while handling 2x the ticket volume.
WhatsApp Commerce Pipeline for a Luxury Automotive Group
Response time dropped from 6 hours to 45 seconds. Lead qualification rate increased by 3.1x, and the group attributed 23% of quarterly sales to the WhatsApp pipeline. Overnight lead capture — previously zero — now accounts for 18% of all qualified leads.
Intelligent Document Processing for Government Compliance
Processing time dropped from 3 weeks to 2 days. Error rate on initial review fell from 28% to 4%. The agency cleared its 6-month backlog within 10 weeks of deployment. Citizen satisfaction scores increased by 41 points, and the system now processes 95% of standard applications without human intervention.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from hiring a full-time CTO?
A good full-time CTO costs $250K–$400K/year in total comp, plus equity. A fractional CTO gives you the same strategic value at a fraction of the cost, with more breadth of experience (we've seen hundreds of tech stacks, not just one company's). You scale up or down based on need, and you get access to our entire team, not just one person.
Do you work with non-technical founders?
Absolutely — it's one of our most common engagements. We act as the technical translation layer between your vision and the engineering work needed to realize it. We help you evaluate technical candidates, vet vendor proposals, and make infrastructure decisions with confidence.
Can you help with technical due diligence for fundraising?
Yes. We prepare technical documentation, architecture diagrams, and scalability assessments that satisfy investor diligence. We can also join calls with technical investors to walk through your stack and roadmap. Several of our clients have cited our technical documentation as a key factor in closing their rounds.
What does fractional CTO engagement typically cost?
Project-based advisory (architecture review, AI strategy roadmap) typically runs $8K–$20K. Ongoing fractional CTO engagement runs $6K–$15K/month depending on time commitment. Both are dramatically cheaper than a full-time hire and can be started or stopped monthly.
Ready to get started?
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We'll discuss your specific needs and outline a clear path forward.
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