Throughout my career, I've navigated the challenges that growing companies face when scaling their technology infrastructure and teams. This hard-earned experience enables me to anticipate potential pitfalls and guide clients toward proven solutions that drive sustainable growth.

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Current Focus

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I'm building a fractional CTO practice focused specifically on three client types:

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VCs and Investors who need technical support for portfolio companies at critical inflection points - post-seed through pre-Series B credibility building, technical crisis management, and leadership transitions.

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Founders and CEOs of growth stage companies who need CTO-level leadership but aren't ready for a permanent $400K+ executive hire.

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Partner Organizations - consultancies, investment firms, and advisory practices that need technical assessment and execution capabilities for their clients.

 

Currently pursuing MS in Artificial Intelligence to stay at the forefront of emerging technologies that will shape the next decade of software engineering.

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Career Highlights

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Prevented Loss of $24M Multi-Year Contract

Led team through emergency system stabilization and critical rewrites when major customer was ready to leave due to technical issues. Direct leadership of the technical response saved the relationship and preserved the contract.

 

Efficiency Through Architectural Innovation

Reduced development time 70% on critical feature - from 6 months with 5 engineers to 2 months with 1 engineer through architectural redesign and smart technology choices.

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From Losses to Profitability

Helped turn company losing $4-5M annually on $20M revenue into profitable operation on $24-26M revenue through technical stabilization, system improvements, and customer retention efforts.

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Team Scaling Excellence

Scaled engineering teams from 4 to 20+ members while maintaining delivery excellence and team morale. Built hiring pipelines, interview processes, and leadership development programs that attracted and retained senior talent in competitive markets.

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Algorithm Design & Cost Optimization

Created optimization algorithms saving clients $10M+ annually. Focused on high-impact technical decisions that directly affect bottom line.

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Industry Breadth

Led technical transformations across fintech, retail analytics, transportation and government. 

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Technical Due Diligence Experience

Participated in technical due diligence as senior engineer when company was being acquired, providing detailed assessment of systems, architecture, and technical risks to potential buyers.

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Leadership Philosophy

 

Servant leadership is at the core of how I work. I don't build dependencies - I build capabilities. Success isn't measured by how much clients need me, but by what their teams can accomplish after I leave.

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I focus on building high-trust, high-performance teams through mentorship, career development, and fostering growth-oriented cultures. The best technical leaders make themselves progressively less necessary as they develop the people around them.

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Technical excellence matters, but people matter more. The best technical solutions come from teams that trust each other, understand the mission, and have the autonomy to execute. My job is to create that environment, not just fix systems and processes.

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Technical Background

 

Deep expertise in distributed systems, microservices architecture, cloud-native solutions (AWS primarily), CI/CD implementation, automated testing strategies, and system reliability engineering.

 

I can have technical conversations with your best engineers and strategic conversations with your board. I bridge the gap between technical reality and business requirements - translating technical constraints into business language and business objectives into technical strategy.

 

Current technical focus areas:

• Distributed systems and microservices architecture

• Cloud-native design patterns and infrastructure (AWS, some Azure/GCP)

• AI/ML integration and practical applications in software engineering

• Engineering team scaling and leadership development

• Security and compliance (SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA)

• System reliability and operational excellence

• Capital-efficient technology choices and right-sizing infrastructure
   

Why Fractional

 

After 28 years, I've seen the same technical problems destroy companies repeatedly. The solution isn't always a permanent CTO. Often it's 3-6 months of focused technical leadership that establishes scalable foundations and prepares companies to hire permanent leadership from a position of strength.

 

Many companies need CTO-level thinking but aren't ready for the commitment and cost of a full-time executive. Fractional engagement provides the strategic guidance and hands-on execution needed to navigate critical inflection points - then transitions cleanly when objectives are achieved.

 

Common situations where fractional makes more sense than permanent:

• Post-Seed to Series A scaling when systems need redesign but company isn't ready for C-level overhead

• Pre-Series B when technical credibility is needed but permanent hire can wait until after raise

• Technical crisis requiring immediate expert intervention - can't wait 6 months for CTO search

• Bridge period during CTO search or leadership transition

• Technical co-founder augmentation - help them scale rather than replace them

 

After fractional engagement, companies typically:

• Technical co-founder successfully scaled to lead larger organization

• Ready to hire permanent CTO from position of strength (systems stable, team functional, company attractive to top talent)

• Extended engagement for next phase if additional scaling challenges require continued support

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Approach to Client Engagements

 

Every engagement starts with clear objectives and exit criteria. I succeed when clients no longer need me.

 

This means:

Building internal technical leadership capability - developing team members who can carry the vision forward, not hoarding knowledge or creating dependencies.

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Establishing processes and documentation that outlast my engagement - automated testing, code review practices, deployment pipelines, and documentation that actually gets maintained.

 

Creating architecture that scales without requiring constant expert intervention - systems designed for maintainability and growth, not just current needs.

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Transferring knowledge systematically - recorded walkthroughs, comprehensive documentation, training sessions that ensure continuity.

 

Right-sizing technology for stage - Not every company needs expensive cloud infrastructure and large teams. Sometimes the best decision is leveraging existing platforms and lean architecture that preserves runway while proving the model.

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Paul Graham Startup Principles

My approach to fractional CTO work is informed by Paul Graham's essays on startups and growth.

 

Key principles I follow:

Do Things That Don't Scale - Manual, high-touch service initially. Exceptional results over process automation. Free technical assessments to build trust. Coffee meetings to understand networks.

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Startup = Growth - Use growth as decision compass. Measure everything. Compound improvement beats linear thinking. Focus on 20% of technical problems causing 80% of growth friction.

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Founder Mode - Stay hands-on technically. Don't default to traditional management consulting approaches. Code reviews, architecture decisions, team mentorship - not just PowerPoint strategy.

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Be Good - Client success as primary metric drives sustainable growth and referrals. Do right by every engagement. Build reputation through delivered outcomes, not marketing.

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Live in the Future - Focus on real problems. Build what's actually missing, not what's trendy. Apply 28 years of experience to anticipate challenges before they become crises.

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Personal

 

Based in Indianapolis, Indiana. When not helping companies scale their technical operations, I'm pursuing my MS in AI, building my own ventures focused on AI applications, and exploring investment opportunities that generate reliable passive income streams.

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I'm actively building my network in the Indianapolis startup and VC ecosystem. New to the area and the startup scene here, focused on establishing relationships and building trust.