for funded startups · seed → series-B · remote, US
On-tap senior engineering
for the CTO seat board seat.
I'm an engineer of 14 years who spent the last three of them building production AI. I work
with a small number of funded founders at a time — as a monthly advisor,
a 1-week DD sprint for VCs and acquirers, or a fixed-scope
AI-strategy engagement. Not a fractional CTO factory. Not a
part-time placeholder.
SENIOR
HONEST
★
FAST
// light footprint
3–4 founders at a time · selective on fit
// engagement modes
Three ways to work, shaped to your stage.
ADVISOR
Monthly retainer.
PRIVATE SLACK · MONTHLY 1:1 · CALL ME ANYTIME
Senior judgment on the architecture decisions, hiring traps, and AI calls you can't
sanity-check inside the building. Light touch — most founders use 2–4 hours a week.
- Private Slack channel + 30-min weekly
- Async architecture reviews
- Hiring help (signal in interviews, leveling)
- Board observer if useful
- Optional vendor / model selection memos
★ open to partial equity for early-stage retainers · 3-month minimum
Book a 30-min intro → DUE DILIGENCE
1-week sprint.
FOR VCs · ACQUIRERS · BOARDS
A focused week of code reading, architecture review, and team interviews. You get a
written report you can put in front of an IC: what's built, what's brittle, what the
AI-readiness story actually is, and where the bodies are buried.
- Repo + infra walkthrough with the team
- Architecture & scalability assessment
- AI / data & security audit
- Hiring & team-health signal
- Written report + a 60-min readout call
★ fixed price · scoped on the intro call · 1-week turnaround
Book a 30-min intro → AI STRATEGY
Fixed-scope engagement.
2–4 WEEKS · FIXED PRICE · DECISION-GRADE OUTPUTS
Project-based work with a written deliverable: an AI-roadmap memo, a build-vs-buy
analysis, an eval-suite design, or a prototype that proves whether a thing is feasible.
What you'd hand to a board.
- AI roadmap (12 months out)
- Build-vs-buy model selection memo
- Eval suite design + reference implementation
- Feasibility spike: prototype + writeup
- Vendor & data-residency review
★ fixed price · scoped after the intro call
Book a 30-min intro → // how it works
Light footprint.
High signal.
I take on a small number of founders at a time — usually three or four. That's not
scarcity marketing; it's the only way the work stays useful. A fractional CTO with
twenty clients is a Slack message router, not an advisor.
What you get from me: a person who's read your code, understands your shape, and will
tell you the thing the room won't.
What you don't get: a recycled deck, a junior, or someone who needs to be onboarded
every other meeting.
EVERY ENGAGEMENT
- 30-min intro — free. We figure out if I'm useful to you.
- Written agreement — short, plain-language. No 12-page MSAs.
- NDAs welcome — bring yours, mine is one page.
- Conflicts disclosed — I won't take a competing engagement without telling you first.
- Deliverables in writing — Slack messages disappear. Memos don't.
- Fixed price wherever possible — including DD and strategy projects.
A good fit if you're...
Funded
Pre-seed → Series-B. Smaller than that, you should be hiring direct, not advisors. Bigger, you should have a real CTO.
AI-touching
Either AI-native or about to be. I'm strongest where the model is part of the product, not bolted on.
Honest about pain
You want a second pair of eyes that will actually disagree with you. If you want a yes-man, hire one — there are many.
Past the demo
Strategy work pays back hardest when there's something real in the codebase already. Pre-product, you mostly need a co-founder, not me.
// how engagements get priced Pricing is a conversation,
not a price list.
I'd rather scope each engagement properly on a 30-min intro than anchor a number on a page
before we've talked about your shape. You'll leave that call with a clear number, a clear
scope, and zero pressure. If we're not a fit, I'll tell you who is.
Advisor retainer
Monthly, fixed-fee. Most retainers run 3–12 months. Open to partial equity for
early-stage companies — alignment over fees.
DD sprint
Fixed price set on the intro call, scoped to your timeline (1 week is typical, 2 if
there's a lot of code). Written report + a readout.
AI strategy
Fixed price after the intro, scoped to the deliverable (memo, prototype, eval suite,
etc). Includes one round of revision.
// candid answers Things founders ask before hiring me.
What does 'fractional CTO' actually mean to you?
Not a placeholder for a real one. I won't sit in your title slot or sign code-of-conduct emails. I will help you architect the system, calibrate the AI investment, sanity-check your senior hires, and tell you when something is going wrong. If you genuinely need someone embedded full-time, I'll help you hire them — that's part of the engagement.
How many clients are you working with right now?
Three or four at a time. If retainer slots are full when you reach out I'll either tell you when the next opens up or recommend someone else who'd be a good fit. I'm not going to take you on if I can't actually be useful.
What about conflicts of interest?
Disclosed up front in writing. I'll tell you who I'm working with at the level you need to be comfortable. If a new engagement would conflict with you, I won't take it without your sign-off — and the sign-off is real, not theatrical.
Can you sit on our board?
Board observer, sometimes — I've done it for a couple of clients where the cap-table fit and I had time. Voting director seats: rarely, and only if there's a real reason. Board seats are a bigger commitment than retainers and I take the duty of care seriously.
My company isn't AI-native. Is that a deal-breaker?
Not at all. The better question is: is AI going to materially shape your roadmap in the next 12 months? If yes, I'm useful. If no, you probably need a different shape of advisor.
How does a DD sprint actually work?
Day 0: scope call with the buyer/IC and a code/infra walkthrough with the target's CTO. Days 1–4: deep work — reading code, reading PRs, reading the data model, talking to the team. Day 5: writing. End of week: PDF + readout. The report is structured so you can hand pages to specific decision-makers (board memo, IC memo, technical appendix). Confidential, NDAs honored.
What if I need a builder, not an advisor?
That's a different door — see
automate.brucelabs.io. For larger product builds we'd talk about scope and figure out whether to bring in a partner.
Do you take equity instead of cash?
Sometimes, partial. I'm happy to take some equity as part of an advisor retainer if it aligns incentives — but not as the whole thing. Cash flow matters.
★ free 30 minutes The first call is short, free, and honest.
30 minutes. Tell me what's keeping you up at night. I'll tell you whether I'm the right shape of help, what it would cost, and what I'd say no to.