Founders and CEOs
A trusted partner for founders
In short
Founders carry decisions that shape the whole company: what to build, who to hire, what to spend and when to bring in a technology leader. I have built and exited a business of my own, so these are founder-to-founder conversations, and I help you build engineering leadership of your own rather than depend on me.
You might recognise this
- You are making consequential technology decisions without a senior technical voice you trust.
- You need to hire your first technology leader, or your next one, and want to get it right.
- An agency or freelancers built the product, and you need to bring it in-house.
- Investors or enterprise customers are asking technical questions you cannot yet answer.
How we might work together
Examples, not packages. They often overlap within one relationship, and we shape the work together.
- Founder-to-founder conversations
- A regular, candid conversation about the decisions in front of you, before they become expensive.
- Hiring your technology leader
- Defining the role, assessing candidates and supporting them once they start.
- Leading for a while
- Fractional or interim CTO leadership while your permanent team takes shape.
Relevant experience
- Founded and exited Fill My Weekend, a profitable events technology business with more than 30,000 members
- Took over technical leadership at Festicket from the founding CTO, then scaled the team from 3 to 17 Read the case study
- Technical roadmaps and hiring advice for early-stage SaaS, EdTech and data science startups
How we start
We start with a focused look at what you’re trying to achieve, what’s getting in the way, and how I could help. From there, we agree whether there’s a useful role for me and what it should involve.
- Understanding the business and what you are trying to achieve
- Meeting the people who matter to the work
- Looking at enough evidence to see where I could be useful
- Deciding together whether an ongoing role makes sense, and what it should be
Selected results
| Organisation | What changed |
|---|---|
| FesticketInterim CTO, 2015 to 2017. The UK's sixth fastest-growing startup | Took over technical leadership from the founding CTO, scaled the team from 3 to 17 through Series B and C, and reengineered the platform to support substantial increases in concurrent demand during a period of more than 1,000% revenue growth. |
Questions
We are pre-product. Is it too early to talk?
Often, yes, for ongoing leadership. You probably need a strong engineer or a product studio first. A conversation can still help you hire well or choose a partner, and I will say plainly if that is all you need.
Will you become our CTO?
Sometimes for a period, as a fractional or interim CTO. The aim is always a leadership team of your own that does not depend on me.