Services
A free conversation, then whatever the work actually needs
There’s no fixed sequence after that. Who builds it and how long I stay involved are two separate questions, and the answer to either can change as the work does.
Free · about 30 minutes
Conversation
A short call to see whether there is a real problem here, before either of us spends real time or money.
No pitch deck. I’m not a salesperson, and I won’t pretend to be one. Half the value of this call is telling you honestly what you actually need, even if that’s a well-built website and a couple of automations. That’s not a fallback. It’s a real engagement, and I’ll treat it like one.
If there is a real fit, we scope the first phase together. If there isn’t, you’ve lost half an hour.
DeliverableA clear yes or no on whether it is worth going further
Who builds it
Teach, build, or somewhere in between
Every engagement lands somewhere on this line, and where it lands can move.
Fixed fee, 2–4 weeks to start
Enablement
I sit down with whoever will own this, and we figure out together what is actually worth automating. At first that’s as much teaching as building; as they get comfortable, I shift from teaching to reviewing.
The first two to four weeks are spent teaching the basics nobody explains (git, deploys, secrets, whatever the gaps are) while shipping one small, real thing together, not a mockup or slides. Sometimes that starts with me building the shared foundation, so they can focus on the actual problem instead of the scaffolding.
DeliverableA working first build, specified and shipped by the person who now owns it, plus a roadmap for what comes next
See it in actionThe internal-tools case study · the apprenticeship case study
Scoped and quoted before you commit
Build
Some systems I build myself. Not everything gets delegated, even with oversight.
Sometimes that’s because a system involves real customer data, security posture, or compliance. Sometimes nobody is positioned to take this on right now. And sometimes you simply want a normal build relationship: you review the spec, I do the building, and you have no interest in learning the workflow yourself. That’s a completely reasonable thing to want.
DeliverableA production system, built and owned by me until someone internal is ready to take it on
See it in actionThe agent-platform case study
These aren’t two separate paths. An Enablement engagement often pulls in Build for the one piece that touches real customer data or security. A Build engagement often ends with training whoever’s going to own it going forward. Most real engagements use both, just in different amounts.
How it’s held together
One phase, or ongoing
A separate question from who builds it: how long I stay involved once the first phase is done.
Ends when the roadmap says it’s done
One phase
A single, scoped phase, priced and delivered on its own. Neither of us owes the other anything past it unless you want to keep going.
This is the shape most engagements start in, and plenty stay there. You get a working result, built the way that fit the work, plus a clear view of what comes next.
DeliverableA finished first phase, plus a roadmap for what comes next
Fractional, 1–2 days per week
Retained leadership
Architecture, technical hiring, and judgment calls, on an ongoing basis, so what gets built keeps making sense as the business changes.
For companies that need a technical decision-maker but not a full-time CTO: system design, build-versus-buy, security and data posture, technical hiring, and vendor decisions.
Alongside Aclymate, I did this as a contract lead architect for another startup for close to two years: architecture and design decisions, directing a team that executed the build.
DeliverableA technical counterpart accountable for the decisions
This doesn’t only start once a first phase proves out. If what’s being built needs to stay lined up with a broader technical strategy the whole way through, especially true for Enablement, that oversight can run alongside it from day one.
Pricing
How this is priced
The first conversation costs you nothing but time. Past that, pricing follows the shape of the engagement, not one fixed formula. Enablement is a fixed fee scaled to the mess of the process, priced before you commit to anything. Retained leadership is a monthly retainer for a set number of days. A straightforward build-and-handoff project, where you review the spec and I do the building, is priced hourly.
Two things stay constant: you know the real number before you commit, and the model always matches the shape of the work, never rewarding slow work over good judgment.
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