Product and technology priorities
Turn business goals, customer feedback and available runway into a roadmap the team can deliver. Decide what to build now, buy, defer or stop.
Fractional CTO / Sydney & Australia
A fractional CTO who can lead the team and write the code.
I work with founders who need senior technology ownership without hiring a full-time CTO. I help decide what is worth building, what it will cost and who should deliver it, then stay close enough to the engineering to make those decisions stick.
When to bring me in
Technology decisions have business consequences.
You might be trying to get your first product into customers' hands, preparing for a funding round, worried about delivery slipping or hiring a team that is becoming harder to manage. Those problems call for more than a technology strategy document.
I've been on both sides: founding software businesses myself and taking responsibility for products, engineers and investor discussions as a CTO. I know why a startup cannot afford every best practice on day one, and why the shortcuts that work initially eventually need replacing.
What I take ownership of
Practical leadership, not just advice.
Engineering and hiring
Assess the people and delivery process you have, recruit where it matters and help engineers work with clearer ownership and fewer bottlenecks.
Architecture and code
Review existing software, choose sensible foundations and get directly involved in design, development and code review when that is what the business needs.
Boards, investors and commercial trade-offs
Explain technology decisions in terms of risk, cost and outcomes, and support funding conversations without pretending engineering is separate from the rest of the business.
Experience behind the offer
I've worked through the stages you are facing.
Building a team for growth
As CTO at Ofload, I launched software products, built and led a 42-person engineering and data team, and supported A$110m+ of Series A to C fundraising as part of the executive team.
Read the Ofload case studyOperating at international scale
As a founding-team member, CTO and board member at Zinc, I helped grow the business from six people to 185+ staff across seven countries and US$200m in annual revenue.
Read the Zinc case studyStill building products myself
I founded CodePulse, designed its architecture, wrote production software and built integrations that connect engineering work to real costs.
Read the CodePulse case studyHow we can work together
Right-sized for the stage you're at.
An engagement might start with a focused technical and commercial review, ongoing part-time ownership of your engineering function, or direct responsibility for getting a particular product or project moving.
I am based in Sydney and work with companies across Australia. Scope, availability and working arrangements are agreed around the actual problem, team and budget, rather than a fixed consulting package.
Common questions
What founders usually want to know.
When should I hire a fractional CTO instead of a full-time CTO?
When technology needs experienced ownership, but a permanent executive hire is not yet justified. A fractional engagement can cover product decisions, architecture, team direction and delivery while the business works out its next stage.
Will you actually work with the engineers and codebase?
Yes. I'm a working software engineer as well as a CTO. The right mix of coding, review and leadership depends on the size of the team and what is most likely to move the business forward.
Can you help before we have an engineering team?
Yes. I have founded products from scratch. We can start with the customer problem, the minimum useful release, sensible architecture and a plan for hiring only when the work justifies it.
Let's work together
What do you want
to move forward?
A product to build. A team to lead. A technology decision to get right. Tell me where you are and what you need.