Sound familiar?
Your engineers are heads-down. You're making product and architecture calls without a technical co-founder in the room. You're not sure if your team is building the right thing, the right way, or just busy.
One wrong hire or one bad architecture decision costs 10x what a retainer costs. You don't need a full-time CTO. You need someone who's been in the seat, on speed-dial.
Built for non-technical founders with a small engineering team
- You have developers but no technical co-founder to gut-check their work
- You're evaluating architecture decisions but don't know what questions to ask
- You need to hire engineers and want to get it right the first time
- You want candid, experienced input - not a consultant who tells you what you want to hear
Three ways to work together
Advisory Retainer
Async only
- Unlimited Slack and email access
- Gut-checks, quick reviews, sanity checks
- No scheduled calls - everything async, on your timeline
- Cancel anytime
CTO in Your Corner
RecommendedCalls + async
- Weekly 30-minute call
- Unlimited async access via Slack or email
- Architecture reviews and hiring input
- Founder communication strategy - how to talk about tech to your board, investors, team
- Cancel anytime
Embedded Sprint
One-time engagement
Two weeks
Most clients recoup this in the first decision they don't get wrong.
- Two weeks embedded with your team
- Full audit of your tech, team, and roadmap
- Walk away with a prioritised plan and at least one decision already made
- Option to continue with a monthly retainer afterwards
"Working with Ben felt like having both a strategic visionary and a hands-on builder in one."
"Ben was an exceptional CTO and a true partner in the chaos of startup life. At WorkMade, we took on massive projects with ambitious timelines, and Ben had the rare ability to turn an idea from concept yesterday to a working build in production today. He knew exactly where to focus our energy for the biggest impact, operated with incredible agility, and made thoughtful trade-offs without ever compromising quality and security. Without needing to be asked. Beyond his technical skill, Ben was an incredible teammate and communicator. He knew how to adapt his style to whoever he was working with (whether it was breaking things down for a non-technical teammate or deep-diving with an engineer) so everyone felt aligned and heard. Working with Ben felt like having both a strategic visionary and a hands-on builder in one. Any founder/team would be lucky to have him in their corner."
Is this right for you?
This is for you if
- ✓ You have a dev team but no technical co-founder
- ✓ You're making architecture or hiring calls with no one to gut-check
- ✓ You want candid advice, not a yes-man
Not for you if
- ✗ You're looking for validation, not honesty
- ✗ You're pre-idea or pre-revenue
- ✗ You want a long-term retainer before we've spoken
Next step
Book a 20-minute call
No pitch. No pressure. Just figuring out if there's a fit.
Book on CalendlyNot Ready to Talk?
Get the playbook
Everything I learned the hard way as a two-time startup CTO - architecture decisions, hiring, managing founders, and the stuff nobody explains about the job. Yours to keep.
The First CTO: The Job Nobody Explains
A playbook for the loneliest job in startups