Fractional CTO for Startups in the USA: Cloud, SaaS & AI
Helping SaaS startups in San Francisco, New York, Miami and Seattle achieve product-market fit and scale quickly.
Why Hire a Fractional CTO for Your Startup?
Launch Your MVP Before Runway Ends
Get to market in weeks, not months. I help seed-stage startups ship fast and validate ideas before burning through capital.
Answer VC Technical Questions With Confidence
Navigate due diligence, defend your tech stack, and prove you can scale. I've helped startups close Series A with strong technical narratives.
Scale Engineering Without Burning Cash
Avoid $250K+ hiring mistakes. Get CTO-level strategy at 30-50% the cost—no equity, no long-term commitment.
Case Study: CTO for a TechBio AI Startup
As CTO at MateBio, I'm leading the transformation of raw biomedical knowledge graph data into a scalable, defensible, commercially viable platform. MateBio provides AI-powered tools that enable wet lab researchers at biotech and pharma companies to explore complex biological relationships through natural language queries and interactive visualizations.
Key outcomes and contributions:
- Architected a GraphRAG system that translates biomedical questions into Cypher queries against Neo4j, with entity recognition, provenance tracking, and confidence scoring.
- Built analytics foundations to understand adoption across use cases, users, and institutions—directly feeding product prioritization decisions.
- Introduced load-balanced and secure APIs to support enterprise-grade deployments.
- Developed interactive 2D and 3D graph visualizations helping researchers navigate biological pathways and relationships.
- Implemented real-time streaming and progress indicators to enhance transparency during complex query processing.
Case Study: Tech Leadership for Startup Growth
As Director of Engineering at Cascade, I led cross-functional and geographically dispersed teams, including teams in Argentina, North America and Australia while contributing to the global Product Leadership Team.
I introduced engineering metrics, developed a career progression framework for engineers, and implemented the Balance Framework for engineering investments. These initiatives enabled Cascade to deliver high-quality features for its U.S. and EMEA customers, while optimizing resources and enhancing the product experience.
Key benefits:
- Facilitated seamless collaboration across time zones, supporting scaling processes and tech.
- Implemented a "Tours of Duty" career framework, encouraging the development of transferable skills and employee retention.
- Introduced the Balance Framework to ensure resource allocation aligned with strategic goals, maximizing ROI on engineering efforts.
- Reduced friction in team communication by acting as the link between Product, Engineering, and People & Culture, enhancing overall team performance.
Case Study: Building a Scalable FinTech Platform
Cross-Border Mobile Wallet for Remittances
As the VP of Engineering at Leapfactor, I led the development of a mobile wallet for remittances and cross-border payments between the US and Mexico. This fintech solution enabled seamless and secure financial transactions, allowing users to send remittances efficiently.
Key achievements included:
- Successfully delivered the platform while managing distributed teams across Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, and the USA, ensuring smooth collaboration and timely delivery.
- Implemented a "build-measure-learn" feedback loop for rapid iteration, allowing the team to quickly adapt to the unique challenges of launching a new product, with new technology, and a new team.
- Integrated financial compliance and security protocols to meet cross-border requirements, supporting a compliant and robust user experience.
Cloud Platform for Mobile Apps
As the Platform Engineering Manager, I hired and led the team responsible for developing a proprietary cloud platform that supported mobile apps for global brands such as Avon, L'Oreal, Astra Zeneca, HD Supply, AeroMexico, and General Shale. My team was recognized for delivering consistently on time and on budget.
My role involved:
- Introducing an agile process along with continuous integration and automated testing, which significantly reduced incidents in service-processing components.
- Automating content rasterization and publishing processes, cutting the lead time from days to minutes, allowing companies to distribute new content to their reps with incredible efficiency.
- Building a solid technical foundation for global app scalability, ensuring that brands could easily leverage technology to enhance user engagement and operational efficiency.
Case Study: MVP Delivery for a FinOps AI Startup
Led the development of an AI-powered chatbot for a FinOps startup in Seattle, integrating cost attribution, budgeting, monitoring, and optimization for generative AI services.
Key outcomes:
- MVP delivered in one month—rapid time-to-market helped attract early customers and validate product-market fit.
- Enabled RAG, tool calling, and image generation using models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and AWS Bedrock.
- Containerized backend architecture supports future growth without full system redesign.
- Minimized development costs by leveraging existing front-end components and infrastructure.
Services for US Startups
Rapid MVP Development
Launch in 8-12 weeks with lean methodology. Get to product-market fit fast without over-engineering or burning runway.
Fundraising Tech Due Diligence
Prepare your tech stack for investor scrutiny. Answer technical questions confidently and close your round faster.
SaaS Architecture & Scaling
Build multi-tenant systems that scale. Handle growth from 100 to 10,000 users without rewrites or downtime.
Remote Team Building & Leadership
Build high-performing distributed teams. Hire, mentor, and scale engineering across US and LATAM time zones.
Technology Stack Assessment
Audit your tech decisions before they become expensive mistakes. Get unbiased recommendations aligned with your business goals.
AI/ML Product Integration
Add AI features that differentiate your product. From RAG pipelines to agentic workflows—ship AI that actually works.
Investment Levels
Transparent pricing that scales with your startup—from initial assessment to ongoing leadership.
Tech Assessment
$2,500
One-time deep dive into your tech stack, architecture, and team processes.
- Complete tech stack review
- Technical debt assessment
- 90-day technology roadmap
- Detailed report & recommendations
Advisory Engagement
$5K-8K/month
Strategic guidance and technical advisory for your leadership team.
- Weekly strategy sessions
- Architecture reviews
- Technology decision support
- Async communication & support
Embedded Leadership
$10K-15K/month
Hands-on CTO work integrated directly with your team.
- Everything in Advisory, plus...
- Direct team leadership
- Hands-on implementation
- Sprint planning & execution
All engagements start with a free consultation to ensure the right fit for your needs.
Is This You?
If any of these situations sound familiar, let's talk:
Just raised seed funding but your technical co-founder left right before launch?
VCs asking technical questions you can't answer during due diligence?
Burning $50K/month on contractors who can't ship working software?
6 months from launch but still no clear tech strategy or architecture?
Engineering team promising features "next sprint" for the past 6 months?
Need to hire a CTO but can't afford $250K salary + equity right now?
If you checked even one box, let's talk.
Book Your Free ConsultationFrequently Asked Questions
Do you take equity or just cash?
Cash only. I don't take equity because it keeps the relationship clean and flexible. You get CTO-level expertise without diluting your cap table, and you can scale the engagement up or down based on your needs.
Can you help us during fundraising due diligence?
Absolutely. I've helped multiple startups prepare for and navigate technical due diligence during Series A and Series B raises. I can document your architecture, defend your tech decisions, create investor-ready technical roadmaps, and answer VCs' technical questions with confidence.
What if we need to scale you to full-time during a critical launch?
Completely flexible. Many startups start with advisory work, scale up to near full-time during critical launches or fundraising, then scale back to ongoing strategic guidance afterward. The pricing adjusts based on time commitment.
How quickly can you start?
For urgent situations (technical co-founder left, investor deadline, critical launch), I can start within 48 hours. For planned engagements, typically 1-2 weeks from our initial call.
Will you help us hire a full-time CTO eventually?
Yes. Part of my role is helping you determine when you're ready for a full-time CTO, writing the job description, screening candidates, and ensuring a smooth transition. I've successfully transitioned several clients to full-time CTOs when the time was right.
What if we're not a fit after the first month?
All engagements are month-to-month with 30-day notice. If I'm not delivering value or it's not working out, you can end the engagement with no long-term commitment. Most clients extend because I focus on tangible outcomes from day one.
Do you work with remote teams across different time zones?
Yes. I specialize in distributed teams across US and LATAM time zones. I've managed teams in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, USA, Australia and more. I'm comfortable with async communication and building strong remote engineering cultures.
Let’s Build and Scale Your Startup
Not sure where to start with your tech challenges? I offer a comprehensive assessment to identify the roadblocks and opportunities that will take your product and team to the next level.