“You need a technical partner, not a vendor.”
Fractional CTO & Startup Advisory
A peer-level technical partner for founders making early decisions — what to build, why, who for, and whether now is even the right time. The team you wish existed when you were still inside the machine.
Most technical advisors show up after the decisions are already made. This engagement starts earlier — at the point where a founder needs a peer who can think through the business holistically, not just the code. What to build, why, who for, and whether now is even the right time. When the answer is yes, the same relationship owns the technical execution: architecture, vendor selection, engineering oversight, and the judgment calls that don't fit neatly into a ticket. One relationship. The full stack of decisions.
- [✓]Technical strategy: and architecture ownership
- [✓]Engineering process design: project management, code review, deployment
- [✓]Codebase stewardship: reverse engineering, documentation, modernization
- [✓]Vendor and tooling: decisions
- [✓]Technical due diligence: support for fundraising
“Robinson operates in a completely different league. Before writing a single line of code, he conducted a meticulous full system audit — understanding what we'd built, identifying critical gaps, and establishing a strategic foundation for our next phase. No other developer I've worked with has ever prioritized this. His work ethic is extraordinary, his technical depth is world-class, and what truly distinguishes him is his genuine care for the mission. Working with him doesn't feel transactional; it feels like true partnership. I trust him fully as both a builder and a partner.”
“Working with Robinson was a significantly different experience than my past work with other developers. Robinson listened, understood our timeline, and delivered an MVP that completely changed how we deliver our product.”
Who this is for
- [01]Non-technical founders, pre-revenue to ~$1M ARR, building a technical product who need a peer in the room — not a contractor at arm's length and not a full-time CTO they can't yet justify hiring.
- [02]Post-revenue operators with an engineering budget but no in-house technical leadership — whose product was built by an agency or contractor and now needs senior judgment to evolve, not another contractor layer.
- [03]Teams between CTOs (departure, sabbatical, succession) who need continuity without a 6-month exec search.
- [04]Founders facing fundraising or acquisition who need credible technical representation in due diligence — someone who can answer the hard questions on the call instead of escalating them.
How engagements work
Discovery call
30 minutes to understand the business, the team, and the decisions on your plate right now. No commitment, no pitch — and an honest read on whether this is the right move for you.
Scoping
If we both see a fit, we agree on cadence, communication norms, and the specific outcomes you're hiring for. Monthly retainer sized to the level of engagement needed.
Ongoing partnership
Weekly calls, async access during office hours, monthly strategic reports. We show up the way a co-founder would — not as a ticket-taker, not as a vendor on the other end of an SLA.
Quarterly review
Every quarter, the engagement is reassessed: what's working, what isn't, what should change. The relationship ends, expands, or evolves based on what the business actually needs.
- [✓]Office hours: 9am–5pm CT, Monday–Friday
- [✓]Slack same day, email within 24 hours: questions get answered, not scheduled
- [✓]Weekly call: 30 or 60 minutes, your choice
- [✓]Monthly strategic report: decisions made, risks ahead, recommendations
- [✓]Hiring support: up to 2 technical screens or JD reviews per quarter
- [—]Hands-on engineering work — scoped separately as Product or Systems Engineering
- [—]Audit delivery — scoped separately at $2,500
- [—]Hiring support beyond 2 per quarter
- [—]Investor due diligence prep
Where we've done this
A platform for creating digital time capsules in autobiography, biography, and memoir formats — preserving stories and memories for future generations.
A personalized weight loss visualization platform that helps users understand the impact of their choices by showing realistic future weight trajectories.
Frequently asked
How is this different from hiring a full-time CTO?+
A fractional CTO is a fraction of the cost and works without equity dilution. The trade-off is bandwidth — we aren't coding day-to-day. For pre-Series A startups, that trade-off is almost always the right one. When the company outgrows it, we help find and onboard the full-time replacement.
Will you write code?+
Not as part of the CTO retainer — that's by design, to keep the engagement focused on judgment and oversight. Hands-on engineering work is scoped separately as Product or Systems Engineering. Many clients do both.
Can you join investor calls or board meetings?+
Yes — fundraising support is one of the most valuable parts of the engagement. We've represented client companies in technical due diligence and answered the questions founders shouldn't have to answer alone.
What's the minimum commitment?+
Three months. Anything shorter doesn't give the engagement room to be useful. After three months, month-to-month with a quarterly review cadence.
Do you do technical due diligence on acquisition targets?+
Yes — buy-side technical diligence is a common ask. Scoped as a Technical Audit on the target company, with findings written for both technical and non-technical readers.
What if we already have a CTO but they're stretched?+
We can work alongside an in-house CTO on specific areas (architecture, vendor decisions, hiring) without stepping on toes. Only works if the CTO actively wants the help — so the conversation has to start with them.
Ready to start?
Discovery calls are free, 30 minutes, and end with a clear next step — even if that step is “not us.”
Schedule Your Discovery Call