Experiences

From 0 to 1, Vision to Solution
CTO in Residence

A seed-stage startup with two business founders had a promising SaaS product idea but lacked technical leadership. The startup needed a CTO to take ownership of the technical strategy, build the product architecture, and lead the development team.

Tasks Done:

• Created an MVP product roadmap, designed the architecture, and defined the technical stack.

• Established the DevSecOps pipeline, set up cloud infrastructure using Next.JS, Supabase and Vercel, and implemented Auth0 for authentication.

• Set up agile development practices while recruiting the engineering team (mix of employees and freelancers).

Outcomes:
The company successfully launched its MVP within six months, secured seed funding

Due Diligence Before Fundraising
Pre-Scale IT Audit

A fast-growing startup with 20 employees was preparing for its next fundraising round. Investors had concerns about the scalability and robustness of the company’s technology stack.

Tasks Done:

• Conducted a full IT audit, evaluating the technical stack’s maturity, infrastructure, and team processes.

• Identified bottlenecks and areas for improvement in the development cycle.

• Provided a detailed report and roadmap to address gaps and optimize scalability.

Outcomes:
The startup successfully raised funds six months later, with investors noting the company’s clear technical vision and robust infrastructure improvements.

From 1 to 100, Scale-Up Journey
CTO Advisory

A 25-employee startup was aiming for international expansion and needed to scale its platform to serve Asia and the US, in addition to European clients.

Tasks Done:

• Reviewed the technology architecture, particularly the data layer based on a PostgreSQL instance on AWS RDS.

• Decoupled the back-end from the data layer and introduced a globally distributed caching layer, reducing latency by 10x.

Outcomes:
Within three months, the company was able to serve five new markets in Asia without opening new sites abroad, improving global performance at a reasonable cost.

Tech Founder Exit: Ensuring Continuity
CTO Ad Interim

A startup with 15 employees faced the sudden exit of its technical co-founder, leaving a leadership gap in the tech team and uncertainty about the business’s future.

Tasks Done:

• Took over leadership of the engineering team to ensure day-to-day operations continued smoothly.

• Stabilized the technology roadmap and maintained momentum on key projects.

• Assisted in recruiting and onboarding a new permanent CTO.

Outcomes:
The company experienced no disruptions in product development, maintained team morale, and successfully transitioned to a new CTO within six months, with minimal impact on business operations.

Elevate Security & Compliance
CTO Coaching

A small tech company preparing for ISO27001 certification as part of its expansion into enterprise-level clients. The company needed stronger security practices to confidently protect customer data while scaling.

Tasks Done:

• Conducted a gap analysis of the current security infrastructure.

• Led the vendor selection process to implement an ISMS (Vanta, Secureframe, OneTrust Tugbot Logic).

• Set up policies, processes, and risk assessments, and prepared for penetration tests performed by Blaze (0 major vulnerabilities identified) to coordinate a successful audit.

Outcomes:
The company achieved ISO27001 certification, strengthening client trust and securing larger enterprise contracts. The new security protocols allowed the company to scale safely.

Step Up on Data Strategy & AI
CTO Coaching

A SaaS startup with 25 employees struggled to leverage its growing data for business insights and wanted to explore AI but lacked a solid data strategy.

Tasks Done:

• Developed a comprehensive data strategy focused on governance and business intelligence, using AWS Quicksight.

• Introduced AI and machine learning tools to automate insights, including topic classification and NLP-based intention and sentiment analysis with AWS Bedrock and AWS Sagemaker.

• Trained the leadership team on data-driven decision-making.

Outcomes:
The company improved its business intelligence capabilities, streamlined decision-making, and successfully implemented AI-based features, which boosted customer engagement and stickiness.

Infusing Innovation: Strategy & Execution
CTO Advisory

A mature tech company with 200 employees needed to refresh its product offerings and differentiate itself in a competitive market. They sought new strategies to innovate and sustain growth.

Tasks Done:

• Developed and executed a comprehensive innovation strategy.

• Integrated AI, automation, and advanced technologies into the product roadmap.

• Fostered a culture of experimentation and creativity within the teams.

Outcomes:
The company launched several innovative products that improved customer retention and generated new revenue streams, positioning them as an industry leader.