Consulting & advisory
The technical call, made by someone who has made it before.
Technology consulting for the decisions you do not want to undo, like build or buy, rebuild or repair, what to fix and what to leave alone. We can do it once, as an architecture review, or stay on as a fractional CTO while the decisions keep coming.
What this means
Often the most useful thing we can do is read what already exists and tell you what holds it up, what is about to get expensive and what should happen next. You get that in writing, even when the answer means there is no follow-on project for us. The same review works as technical due diligence when an investor or buyer needs one before a deal.
The questions are usually the same shape. Is this platform worth extending, or is it finished. Does buying this cost less than owning it once you count the second year. Why did the last rewrite change so little. Answering those takes somebody who has run systems like these in production, which is why this work sits right next to the engineering.
Most of this work carries on past the answer. A review that lands well tends to become a standing arrangement, a day or two a month, in the decisions that come up between projects, so the next expensive call gets made by someone who already knows the system. Some people call that a fractional CTO. It is the same work on a longer clock.
Questions
What people ask first.
Can we hire you for a review without a build?
Yes. It is a fixed scope, and what you get is a recommendation you can act on. If the recommendation is that you do not need us, that is the recommendation.
Can you just guide our team through a decision?
Yes, and it is the most common way this starts. A single decision, whether a platform choice, an architecture your team is unsure about or a supplier's proposal nobody can evaluate, is a short, bounded piece of work. You get a recommendation and the reasoning under it, there is no commitment past it, and plenty of these end there.
What does a fractional CTO arrangement look like?
A day or two a month, working inside the decisions as they come up. That means architecture calls, conversations with vendors and candidates, and a technical voice in the room when the board asks something nobody inside can answer yet. We agree it in months, and either side can end it.
Do we need a full-time CTO instead?
Eventually, probably. Most companies reach a point where the technical decisions are constant enough to justify one, and when you reach it we will say so, and help you hire. Before that, a full-time hire is a large fixed cost for a role that is genuinely busy two days a month. This is the arrangement for the years in between.
How long does a review take?
Usually two to four weeks depending on how much of the system is documented and how many people we need to talk to. Longer than that generally means the question was too broad, and we would rather narrow it at the start than bill for the discovery.
What do we actually get?
A written assessment of what exists, what is at risk, and what each option costs, in language your board can read and your engineers will stand behind. It ends with a recommendation and the reasoning under it, so you can act on it or argue with it.
Can you review a supplier's proposal or quote?
We can. We check whether the scope matches what you asked for, whether the estimate holds up, what has been left out, and what the work will cost to run and change later. You get our view in writing before you sign.