Frequently Asked Questions
Do you actually develop websites or apps?
Sometimes. Think of us as an interim CTO for your company. While we can build your site or app, it is more common that we help you choose, vet or manage a team. Building a product is more than just having an idea and developers - it is translating that idea into business requirements and a specification that a development team can execute on. If you have a team in mind, we ensure that team builds what you actually want. If you don't know where to start, we help you. And if you want to use us as a one stop shop for your development, we can do that, but it's usually not a cost-effective solution - the same way it's not the best use of a CTO's time to build you a widget but they can.
I have a team - where do you come in?
Believe it or not, a lot of what we do is fix messes when development teams build something that a founder did not expect. There is a big gap between what's in someone's head and what developers, especially those whose native language is not your own, think you want. We close that gap. If you already have a team, we can review your business requirements and verify that what the team is building matches both what you specified and things you didn't think to specify. We ensure that the final product is secure, scalable and manageable. We can attend standups, perform code reviews and even training sessions. We are on your side.
I've been burned with a previous team - now what?
We are sincerely sorry that this has happened to you and while it doesn't help, you should know that this happens more often than you think. We work with a lot of companies in your situation. We help you get out of that hole by assessing what you have and giving you cost-effective options. Remember - we are not developers - we are CTOs. While a lot of developers immediately recommend redoing, replatforming and throwing things out, we tend to think more fiduciarily. Talk to us and see what we can do.
What are your prices?
We mostly work with startups from no revenue to ~$30MM USD and our pricing reflects that. We work with you to figure out a pricing stategy that is affordable and fair. Pricing also depends on who you need - we have senior CTOs who have sat on boards of multinational companies, we have CTOs that have gone through fundraising and IPOs and we have CTOs that focus on smaller startups in focused industries. Based on some initials conversations, we present you with options that can accelerate your growth at a manageable pricepoint.
What are your availabilities?
Most of our clients don't need a full time CTO and our involvement ranges from a few hours a month to a few hours a week and, in rarer cases, 15+ hours a week for special projects like MVP planning, launch, or fundraising preparedness. Depending on your needs, you will work exclusively with one CTO or even a multidisciplinary team.
What if I really like the CTO I work with - is there an opportunity to make them full time?
This is a question we get asked often. Most of our CTOs have responsibilities that prevent them from being able to join your company full time (and you probably don't need them full time). However, we are a network of free-thinking CTOs and if logistics and locations work out, we leave it up to each individual to make that decision.