01 · The premise
A Fractional CTO isn't a consultant. It's a decision we sign together, every time it weighs.
A non-technical founder, or one that's technical-but-overwhelmed, needs someone they trust on big technical choices: stack, hiring, build-vs-buy, due diligence, board reporting.
We work as an on-site customer in reverse: we are the engineers embedded in the business, not vice versa. We participate in real decisions (not monthly PDF reports). We say no when it's needed. We say "I don't know, give us 48 hours" when it's honest.
The Extreme Contract is sharp: no delegation of responsibility. The founder remains the founder, we are amplification — not replacement. All decisions are signed in pairs.
04 · The contract
Pre-conditions, post-conditions, invariants.
Every engagement has explicit pre-conditions, measurable post-conditions, and invariants we never violate. You know what we need at the start, what comes out at the end, and what we don't negotiate in the middle.
Pre-conditions / what we need from you
- Founder willing to have honest exchanges, not seeking confirmations.
- Board (if any) informed that we enter as fractional advisor.
- Access to key meetings: weekly leadership, board prep, hiring committees.
- Financial transparency on technical resources (budget, headcount, infra costs).
Post-conditions / what we guarantee
- Documented, shared, signed tech roadmap.
- Hiring plan executed or executing on written criteria.
- Build-vs-buy decisions with ADRs.
- When timing is right: handover to a full-time CTO identified together.