Hands-On CTO & AI Leader

I lead technology and AI for startups and scale-ups: strategy, architecture, team, and the decisions that are expensive to get wrong. And I still write the critical code myself. Available as fractional CTO, technical advisor, or AI lead.

Fractional CTO · Technical Advisor · AI Strategy · Technical Due Diligence

4
startups built in the last 2 years

From PoC to production, as CTO, architect, or founder

€500K
seed round raised

By a startup I built the product and technology for

$100K
secured from Amazon

By another startup I took from idea to launch

12+
years in software, 6 leading teams

Startups, scale-ups, and enterprise

Track record

Engineering leadership

Engineering Manager at Job&Talent. Before that, Head of Frontend and Tech Lead of the Platform team at Doxy.me, a telehealth platform.

Founder, CEO & CTO

Founded Clariox, an AI speech-coaching product, and took it from idea to production.

Fractional CTO

CTO-level ownership for founders in fintech (BankSmyth) and SaaS (Monthlee): strategy, architecture, and launch.

AI in production

Led AI products from PoC to release: real-time LLM pipelines, RAG, and multi-provider speech AI (Echios, Clariox).

Bring me in when…

  • You are a founder without a technical co-founder and need someone to own technology at CTO level, without a full-time executive hire yet.
  • You are betting on AI and need someone to set the strategy, choose the stack, and get it to production reliably and at a sane cost.
  • You are raising, acquiring, or investing and need technical due diligence from someone who has built and run the kind of systems being evaluated.
  • Your team is shipping, but nobody senior owns the architecture, and you cannot tell whether the decisions being made are right.
  • Your platform has outgrown its first architecture and you are facing a rewrite, migration, or scaling decision you cannot afford to get wrong.
  • Your technical lead left, or an agency or AI tool built the product, and you need someone to take ownership now.

Who I work with

Founders & CEOs

“I need a technical partner at co-founder level, not another contractor.”

I own the technology function with you: roadmap, architecture, hiring, vendors, and the decisions that are expensive to get wrong. Reported in business terms, and built hands-on where it matters.

Investors & Boards

“Is this company’s technology an asset or a liability?”

Independent technical due diligence and post-investment oversight, written for people making capital decisions: what is sound, what is risky, and what it will cost to fix.

How I Can Help

Start where the risk is highest. Most engagements begin with a review or a strategy call and grow into an ongoing leadership role.

Fractional CTO

Technology leadership for founders who need someone to own the whole function, and still be able to open the codebase.

Includes:

  • Technology strategy, roadmap, and architecture decisions
  • Hands-on ownership of critical systems, migrations, and modernization
  • Hiring, team structure, vendors, and delivery oversight
  • Fundraising diligence, board reporting, and risk management

Best for: Founders and CEOs who need ongoing CTO-level ownership without a full-time executive hire.

Technical Advisor

A senior, independent voice for founders and boards who do not need a CTO every week, but need one for the decisions that matter.

Includes:

  • Regular strategy sessions, and on call for the big decisions
  • Review of architecture, roadmap, hiring plans, and vendor choices
  • Independent read on your team and your technical leads
  • Preparing the technology story for investors and the board

Best for: Founders with a capable team who want a trusted senior sounding board, and boards that want independent technical oversight.

AI Strategy & Architecture

From AI strategy to systems that work in production: reliably, measurably, and at a cost that makes sense.

Includes:

  • AI strategy, build-vs-buy, and model and provider selection
  • LLM, RAG, and agent architecture with evaluation and cost governance
  • Leading delivery from PoC to production and upskilling your team

Best for: Companies making a real bet on AI that need senior ownership beyond the demo.

Technical Due Diligence & Architecture Review

An independent, senior read of the product, architecture, infrastructure, team, and delivery before the money is committed.

Deliverables:

  • Written report with a prioritized risk map
  • Architecture, scaling, security, and cost findings
  • 30/60/90-day technical action plan

Best for: Fundraising, acquisitions, investment decisions, launches, and rewrite-or-not calls.

Engagement models

You are not buying hours. You are buying ownership of the decisions that are expensive to get wrong.

Fractional CTO

Monthly retainer, 1-2 days/week. Own the technology function: strategy, architecture, team, vendors, and board reporting.

Technical Advisor

Monthly retainer, a few hours per week. Strategy sessions, decision reviews, and on call for the moments that matter.

AI Strategy & Architecture

Monthly retainer, 1-2 days/week. AI strategy, architecture, and delivery to production.

Technical Due Diligence & Architecture Review

Fixed scope, 1-2 weeks. The easiest way to start: an independent picture of what is sound, what is risky, and what to do next.

Due diligence and reviews are priced as fixed-scope projects, agreed up front with no open-ended hourly billing. Fractional and advisory engagements run as simple monthly retainers, a fraction of the $250,000-$350,000/year cost of a full-time CTO.

How it works

1

Strategy Call

We talk through your product, team, and goals. No pitch, just a clear read on where you stand.

2

Assessment

I review your technology, architecture, team, and delivery, and identify the risks and opportunities that matter.

3

Roadmap & Decisions

You get a clear plan: what to build, what to fix, what to skip, and the decisions I recommend and why.

4

Ownership & Execution

I take ownership as fractional CTO or AI lead, or stay close as technical advisor, and implement the critical parts myself where it matters.

What clients say

Real messages from people I've worked with.

Joana Salves
Joana Salves
Founder, DiscoverPortugalToday
2:14 PM
Tech stack decision
Nick not only suggested the best tech stack for our project but also quickly built it and helped us integrate it into our system.
🏹➡️😎
V
Viktoriya Pasichnyk
Marketing Analyst
10:29 AM
SaaS strategy consultation
I want to thank you for your consultation on working with SaaS platforms their creation and ongoing development. It was a very insightful conversation, with a sharp business-technical perspective on startup growth. It helped me understand how such platforms are built and how their implementation works. A truly valuable connection.
🏹➡️😎
M
Founder, Monthlee
4:37 PM
Product leadership
Working with Nick has been a fantastic experience. He's thoughtful, responsive, and very easy to communicate with. I genuinely enjoy working with him, and a big reason for that is that he makes the process feel simple. He can understand what I want to build, ask the right questions, and help clarify the best way to get there. When you're building a product, having someone who understands the technical options and can guide you toward the right decisions is incredibly valuable. Beyond the work itself, Nick is also just a great person to collaborate with. I can't imagine building this with anyone else, and I couldn't recommend him enough.
🏹➡️😎

Currently accepting 2-3 new engagements this quarter.