01 — Embedded
The technical co-founder you haven't hired yet.
We take the CTO seat and bring the engineering team with us. Strategy, architecture, delivery and hiring — owned end to end, for a fraction of what a full-time technical leader plus a team would cost.
Your tech team
Assembled, not hired
- Fractional CTOLeadStrategy, architecture, hiringWeek 1
- Product engineerWeb app, API, databaseWeek 1
- Mobile engineeriOS and AndroidOn demand
- ML / AI engineerModels and automationsOn demand
One engagement. No hiring cycle, no equity table surprises.
What's included
The whole technical function.
Not an advisory retainer. We hold the pager, review the pull requests and answer for what ships.
Technical strategy
The architecture, the build-vs-buy calls and the roadmap that gets you from where you are to the next milestone — written down, not implied.
We are the team
Backend, frontend, mobile, data. Until you hire, we are your engineering department, and we ship every week.
Delivery management
Sprint planning, standups, code review and release. You get demos on a staging URL, not status reports.
Hiring your replacement
Role scorecards, sourcing, technical interviews and onboarding — so your first in-house engineers land well.
Infrastructure & security
Cloud setup, CI/CD, access control, backups and cost discipline before it becomes a rewrite.
Diligence support
Investor and enterprise technical diligence, answered by someone who can defend every decision in the codebase.
A good fit
You'll get a lot out of this if…
- Non-technical founders with a funded idea and no engineering team
- Teams whose technical co-founder left, or never arrived
- Startups with contractors and no one owning the architecture
- Companies raising a round that need the tech story to hold up
Probably not a fit
We'd point you elsewhere if…
- Teams that want advice-only, a few hours a month
- Projects looking purely for the lowest hourly rate
- Work with no decision-maker available to talk weekly
Need something built to a spec instead? Product engineering
Engagement
How it starts.
A short, low-commitment path from first call to a team that's already shipping.
Week 0
Discovery
A call, then a written read on your architecture, risks and what the next 90 days should contain.
Week 1
Plan & team
Roadmap, system design and the shape of the team. We agree scope, cadence and a monthly retainer.
Week 2+
Shipping
Sprints begin. Weekly demos, a shared board, and a CTO in your Slack answering in hours, not days.
Ongoing
Hand over
As you hire, we transfer ownership deliberately — documentation, pairing, and a clean exit whenever you're ready.
Fractional CTO
Let's talk about your tech.
Bring your product, your stage and your worries. We'll tell you honestly whether you need a fractional CTO, a project team, or neither.
We reply within one business day.