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brainiac/studio

Digital Studio

brainiac/studiobrainiac/studio
← CTO as a Service
04 · cto as a service / fractional cto

Senior engineering leadership. No equity, no full-time headcount.

For founders and CEOs who need a senior technical partner — not a consultant who disappears between invoices. Big technology decisions, hiring, vendor choices, and board-level reporting. 4–20 hours per week.

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our point of view

The CTO gap kills more companies than bad code does.

Most early and growth-stage companies have the same problem: the big technical decisions are being made — just without a senior voice in the room. The result is three years of expensive-to-undo choices, a team hired in the wrong order, and a pitch that falls apart the moment an investor's technical advisor starts asking questions.

A fractional CTO is not a part-time employee. It's a structured senior engagement: a weekly or biweekly rhythm, a defined scope, and clear handovers. You get the judgment of someone who has built and scaled systems before — without giving up shares or filling a seat before you're ready.

We work with founders who are technical but stretched thin, with CEOs who need a trusted translator between the engineering team and the board, and with companies preparing for a funding round or a sale — where technical credibility matters.

4–20 hrsPer week, senior presence
$0Shares given up — every engagement is cash-only
2 weeksTo our first big technology recommendation
what we build

What we actually do.

01

Technology review & roadmap

We review how your product is built, flag the decisions quietly building up risk, and give you a prioritized plan tied to your business goals — not a generic best-practices checklist.

02

Engineering team leadership

Regular 1:1s with your engineering leads, sprint check-ins, interview support, and the steady senior presence that keeps good engineers from leaving.

03

Technical hiring & team design

We define the roles you actually need, write the interview scorecards, sit on the panels, and tell you when a candidate is selling you a story. We've seen what the right hire at the wrong time costs.

04

Vendor and build-or-buy decisions

Every 6 months you'll face the same choice: build it or buy it. We work out the true long-term cost, the switching risk, and whether the vendor's promises hold up — beyond their sales deck.

05

Board & investor reporting

We prepare the technical sections of board decks, field investors' technical questions, and translate engineering progress into language the board actually follows.

06

Security & compliance

SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR — the security and privacy certificates big customers ask for by name. We scope what you need, plan the work, and deal with the auditors. We also review your emergency plan before you need it.

07

Infrastructure & cloud strategy

Cutting cloud bills, keeping the product reliably online, and making releases faster and safer. We set the direction; your team executes; we stay accountable for the outcome.

08

Sale & acquisition support

Preparing for a sale? We get your technology ready for buyer scrutiny, assemble the documents buyers will ask for, and support the joining-up work after the deal — on either side of it.

use cases

Who we work with.

01

Founder-led technical companies

The founding CTO is now managing people all day and has no time to think about the big picture. We provide that senior layer so the team keeps moving.

02

Non-technical CEOs scaling a product

You can read a P&L but not a system diagram. We become your technical co-pilot — translating, filtering, and holding the engineering team accountable.

03

Companies raising their next round

Investors will ask hard technical questions. We get you ready: a reviewed architecture, a growth story that holds up, and clear answers on security and team.

04

Companies in transition

A departing CTO, a leadership shuffle, or a big pivot. We keep things steady and help you hire the permanent leader from a clear brief — not out of panic.

05

Private-equity-owned companies

New owners want the technology risk sized up fast. We run a rapid assessment and put board-ready findings on the table within 30 days.

06

Enterprise innovation teams

Internal teams building brand-new products need an outside senior view that isn't filtered through office politics. We play that role.

approach

How an engagement works.

01

Getting the full picture

Two to three weeks of interviews, code review, systems review, and team assessment. You get a written report ranking the risks and the opportunities.

02

Agreeing the plan

We tie the technical priorities to your business milestones and agree a 90-day plan. It's a living document — it changes as the business changes, and we review it every month.

03

A regular rhythm

Weekly or biweekly sessions with you and your engineering lead, plus quick answers by message for urgent decisions. Nothing waits two weeks for a meeting.

04

Hands-on support

We join stand-ups, interviews, and board meetings as needed. We write the technical parts of investor materials, and review big proposals before they get built.

05

Handing over

When you're ready to hire a full-time CTO, we write the brief, help run the search, and make the handover seamless. The goal is a transition you don't notice.

tech stack

Where we have depth.

AWS / GCP / Azure
Kubernetes & Terraform
Node.js / TypeScript
Python / FastAPI
React / Next.js
PostgreSQL / Redis
Kafka / SQS
SOC 2 / ISO 27001
CI/CD — GitHub Actions
Datadog / Grafana
OpenAI / Anthropic APIs
LangChain / RAG pipelines
pricing

Engagement models.

— 01

Advisory

$4k – $6k / mo

4–6 hours per week. Strategic guidance, a monthly technology review, and investor prep. Best for founders who need a senior voice on the big decisions.

  • Monthly technology review
  • Quick answers over Slack / email
  • Investor & board prep
  • 3-month minimum
Most popular— 02

Embedded

$8k – $14k / mo

8–12 hours per week. Leading the engineering team, hiring support, and sprint involvement. Best for teams that need weekly senior presence.

  • Weekly team sessions
  • Hiring interview support
  • Vendor and build-or-buy decisions
  • 3-month minimum
— 03

Hands-on

$16k – $22k / mo

16–20 hours per week. Full CTO coverage: technology, team, security, and board reporting. Best for companies between technical leaders or preparing to raise money.

  • Full CTO coverage
  • Board & investor reporting
  • Security & compliance leadership
  • 6-month minimum
faq

Frequently asked.

8 questions answered. Still have one? Reach out.

You get seasoned judgment without giving up shares, waiting through a 6–12 month ramp-up, or risking the wrong permanent hire. A fractional CTO is the right answer when you need leadership now but aren't ready to commit to a full-time executive.

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