from first call to shipped work
How It Works
Every engagement starts the same way — a free 30-minute call — and then takes one of three shapes, depending on what you actually need. No long contracts, no handoff lag, no surprises.
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It starts with a conversation
Before anything else, we talk. Every engagement begins with a free 30-minute call — no pitch, no pressure. We figure out where you're headed, what's actually slowing you down, and whether I'm the right person to help.
If it's a fit, I'll tell you which way of working makes the most sense. If it isn't, I'll tell you that too — and usually point you somewhere better. The first call isn't about selling you something. It's about finding out whether the work is worth doing together.
Three ways to work together
Same senior judgment behind all three. The difference is how hands-on the engagement is — and how it's scoped.
Advisory
A CTO on speed dial. Weekly strategy and architecture calls, same-day async Q&A between sessions, and roadmap or code reviews on request.
Monthly retainer · min. 3 months. Best for teams that have engineers but want senior judgment in the room.
Embedded Partner
Everything in Advisory, plus I'm actually building with you — owning real deliverables, architecture, and PR reviews from inside your team. One engagement, no handoff lag.
Monthly retainer · min. 3 months. Best for scaling teams that need a builder and a strategist in one.
Project Sprint
A specific, defined problem — a migration, an AI system, a performance overhaul. We scope it, agree on the outcome, and I deliver it.
Fixed scope · fixed fee. Best for a well-defined challenge that needs doing properly, once.
What every engagement looks like
However we work together, the rhythm is the same:
- A free call to understand the problem and decide if it's a fit.
- A clear plan — what we're doing, in what order, and what "done" looks like.
- Real work, shipped — you see progress continuously, not all at the end.
- Senior judgment throughout — the decisions that matter get the attention they deserve.
You always know what's happening, what's next, and why. No black boxes.
And I work where your team already works. You don't bolt on another tool to work with me — I join the one you've got. I'll be in your Slack (or you in mine), your Linear, your repo, your standups if you want me there.
- Async by default — reachable in your channels, and I reply within a business day, usually sooner.
- A standing call when a decision needs a conversation, not a thread.
- One person, start to finish — the voice in Slack is the one writing the architecture and shipping the code. Nothing gets lost in a handoff.
Prefer email, a private channel, or the occasional call? That works too. The point isn't the app — it's that I'm genuinely embedded and easy to reach, not a vendor you chase for an update.
What makes it different
Most fractional CTOs hand you a deck and disappear. I build. With AI-augmented workflows in my toolkit, a single engagement reliably delivers the output of a full team — the strategy and the hands to execute it, from the same person.
I also take on a small number of clients at a time, on purpose, so every engagement gets the attention it deserves. You're not a line item in someone's portfolio.
The thinking behind the work
How I work is shaped by two ideas:
- The 70/30 Method — automate the repeatable 70% of the work so people can own the decisive 30%.
- An Agentic OS — the connected layer of AI agents that actually runs that 70% inside your business.
Whichever way we work together, that's the engine underneath it.
Go deeper → The Fractional CTO Field Guide — how fractional engagements actually work.
Common questions
How soon can you start?
Fast — days, not months. Every engagement begins with a free 30-minute call; if it's a fit, I can usually start within a week. There's no long ramp, because you're bringing in one senior person, not onboarding a team.
What does it cost?
It depends on the shape of the work — a monthly retainer, a day rate, or a fixed-scope project. The free call ends with a straight number for your situation, not a vague "it depends." I break down the ranges and how they compare to a full-time hire in What a fractional CTO costs.
Do you actually write code, or just advise?
Both — usually in the same week. I make the architecture and roadmap calls and ship the work, so nothing gets lost between deciding something and building it. That's the whole point of the 70/30 Method.
I already have engineers. What do you do?
I lead them, not replace them. I set technical direction, establish code-review and hiring standards, and get hands-on where it counts — so the team you're already paying for compounds instead of quietly drifting.
How much of your time do I get?
Fractional means senior judgment and hands-on work where it matters — steering and stepping in, not forty hours a week. If you mainly need raw capacity, the cheapest correct setup is me directing an agency or dev shop underneath; I cover when that's the right call in Fractional CTO vs. agency vs. dev shop.
What if it's not working out?
Engagements are cancellable — no equity, no eighteen-month commitment. That's the point of fractional: senior help exactly when you need it, and only for as long as you do.
Ready to find out if it's a fit?
Book a free 30-minute call. We'll talk through where you're headed and whether I'm the right person to help you get there. No pitch, no pressure.
No sales pitch. Just a conversation about what's possible.