Fractional CTO Services for VC Portfolio Companies

 

De-Risk Technical Execution. Accelerate Time to Next Round.

 

I partner with VCs to provide fractional CTO services to portfolio companies at critical technical inflection points. When your Series A company needs to scale engineering but the technical co-founder is overwhelmed, or your pre-Series B company needs technical credibility to support the next valuation, I provide the leadership that unblocks growth.

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28 years building software. 15+ years in leadership helping teams scale. 6+ years at executive levels as Director and CTO. Currently pursuing MS in AI.

 

The Portfolio Company Technical Problem

 

Your portfolio companies hit predictable inflection points:

 

Post-Seed to Series A: Product-market fit achieved, but systems weren't built for scale. Engineering team needs to grow from 5 to 20 in next 12 months. Technical co-founder is brilliant but overwhelmed. Every new hire makes coordination harder, not easier. Velocity is slowing despite adding developers.

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Pre-Series B: Business metrics look strong, but investors are questioning technical capability. Security and compliance are blocking enterprise deals. Architecture decisions from early days are now limiting growth. You need technical credibility that supports the valuation story.

 

Technical Crisis: Systems failing during critical moments. Customer churn accelerating due to reliability issues. Engineering team morale collapsing. Can't close key deals because prospects don't trust the platform. Board is asking hard questions about technical leadership.

 

Leadership Transition: Technical co-founder needs to step back or move to different role. Or worse, they've already left. Company can't afford 6-month CTO search or risk another bad hire. Need leadership continuity while determining permanent solution.

 

You can't fix these problems from the board room. Telling founders to "hire a CTO" doesn't help when great CTOs won't join companies with technical dysfunction.

 

How I Help Your Portfolio Companies

 

Rapid Stabilization (First 90 Days)

 

I join the leadership team and focus on immediate stability:

• Assess current systems, team capability, and technical debt

• Stop critical failures that are destroying customer trust

• Establish monitoring and metrics that provide visibility

• Implement quick wins that restore team confidence

• Create honest technical assessment for board reporting

 

Outcome: Predictable operations. Board has clear picture of technical reality, not founder optimism.

 

Scale Preparation (Months 3-6)

 

Once stable, I evaluate whether your portfolio company is set up appropriately for their stage - or burning unnecessary capital on over-engineered solutions.

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The Capital Efficiency Assessment:

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Many Series A companies over-engineer:

• $40K/month cloud infrastructure serving 1,000 users (should cost $2K)

• Eight-person engineering team supporting an MVP (need 2-3 excellent engineers with better tools)

• Custom solutions for everything when existing platforms would work

• Kubernetes complexity for applications that don't need it

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This burns runway unnecessarily and creates poor unit economics that hurt Series B positioning.

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I optimize for capital preservation while maintaining growth velocity.

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If Over-Engineered:

Simplify infrastructure, right-size team, identify no-code/low-code alternatives. Cut burn rate 30-50% while maintaining or improving velocity. Sometimes fewer engineers with smarter technology choices deliver better results.

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If Right-Sized:

Optimize current stack, establish clear metrics for when to scale specific components, create efficient growth path. Plan migrations before you need them.

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If Ready to Scale:

Design distributed systems, build engineering teams, establish infrastructure for 10x growth - but only for the pieces that actually need it. Keep everything else lean.

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Then I build foundations for efficient growth:

• Design architecture that supports 10x scale without premature optimization

• Establish engineering practices: automated testing, CI/CD, documentation

• Build hiring pipeline and interview process that attracts senior talent

• Develop leadership capability within existing team

• Create technical roadmap aligned with business objectives and capital efficiency

 

Outcome: Extended runway, improved unit economics, company positioned to scale engineering team without losing velocity. Technical story supports fundraising with capital-efficient execution.

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Strategic Positioning (Ongoing)

 

Throughout engagement, I focus on improving fundability:

• Technical story that supports next round valuation

• Security and compliance that unlock enterprise revenue

• Engineering metrics that demonstrate operational maturity

• Board-ready reporting that builds investor confidence

• Transition planning that doesn't create leadership vacuum

 

Outcome: Technical execution becomes competitive advantage, not investment risk.

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How Partnership Works

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You Identify Portfolio Company Needs

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You know which companies in your portfolio are facing technical scaling challenges.

You see the warning signs in board meetings: missed deadlines, stability issues, difficulty hiring, technical co-founder stress.

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You Introduce Me as Trusted Resource

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"I work with a fractional CTO who specializes in exactly this problem. He's helped several companies through this inflection point. Let me introduce you."

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Your introduction carries weight. Founders trust your judgment. I'm not a cold vendor, I'm your recommended solution.

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I Engage as Fractional CTO

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Discovery (Week 1): I meet with founder, team, and review systems. We align on specific problems, success metrics, timeline, and engagement model.

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Execution (Weeks 2-26): I work alongside the team. Typically 2-3 days per week for 3-6 months, adjusting based on needs. I'm in leadership meetings, making architecture decisions, mentoring engineers, establishing processes.

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Progress Reporting: Regular updates to both you and the founder. You know where things stand, risks being managed, timeline to key milestones.

 

Transition: Clean exit when objectives achieved. Either permanent CTO hired, technical co-founder successfully scaled, or engagement extended for next phase.

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You Get Credit for Solving the Problem

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Founders tell other founders. You solved a critical problem they couldn't solve alone. Your reputation as value-add investor strengthens. Other portfolio companies ask for similar help.

 

I get repeat referrals from VCs who've seen me deliver.

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Partnership Models

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Portfolio Retainer

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For VCs with 10-20 portfolio companies where several will need technical support:

• Monthly retainer provides priority access for your portfolio

• Quick technical assessments (1-2 hours) for any portfolio company

• Discounted engagement rates for full fractional CTO projects

• Quarterly portfolio technical health reviews

• You have technical resource available when portfolio companies need it

 

Project Referrals

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For specific portfolio company situations:

• You identify need and make introduction

• I provide proposal for defined scope and timeline

• Engagement priced directly with portfolio company

• Regular progress updates to you and founder

• You maintain primary relationship, I deliver technical outcomes

 

Technical Due Diligence

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Pre-investment or bridge round decisions:

• Comprehensive technical assessment in 2-3 weeks (starting at $7,500)

• Evaluate team capability, architecture decisions, technical debt

• Assess realistic timeline for technical milestones vs founder projections

• Identify risks that would impact valuation or fundability

• Board-ready report with clear investment recommendation

 

What I Don't Do

 

I don't compete with you for equity or board seats. I'm fractional leadership focused on defined outcomes, not permanent executive building my portfolio.

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I don't recruit founders or key employees away from your portfolio. I'm here to strengthen your portfolio companies, not raid them.

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I don't create dependencies that extend engagements unnecessarily. Every engagement starts with exit criteria. I succeed when companies don't need me anymore.

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I don't bad-mouth previous technical decisions to make myself look good. I assess reality honestly and focus on path forward, not blame.

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What I Do

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Make you look smart for bringing me in. Founders appreciate the introduction. Results validate your judgment.

 

Document progress for your board reporting. You have clear visibility into technical improvements and remaining risks.

 

Help founders become better technical leaders. I'm not replacing technical co-founders, I'm developing them.

 

Build engineering teams and systems that outlast my engagement. Success means the company is stronger after I leave.

 

Return companies in position to raise next round. Technical execution supports the growth story instead of creating investor doubt.

 

What I Bring to VC Partnerships

 

Deep Understanding of Startup Economics

 

I'm not an enterprise consultant trying to apply Fortune 500 processes to companies with 18 months runway. I know the difference between technical debt that matters and technical debt that doesn't. I optimize for growth velocity, not perfect architecture.

 

Capital Efficiency Focus

 

Most fractional CTOs push complexity: bigger infrastructure, larger teams, custom solutions. I optimize for extending runway while reaching revenue faster. Sometimes the best answer is no-code platforms and 2 engineers, not Kubernetes and 10 engineers.

 

Proven Outcomes from 28 Years

 

Prevented loss of $24M multi-year contract through emergency system stabilization. Reduced development time 70% through architectural innovation (6 months/5 engineers → 2 months/1 engineer). Turned $4-5M annual losses into profitability. Scaled teams from 4 to 20+ members. Designed algorithms saving $10M+ annually.

Your portfolio companies need someone who's done it before. I have.

 

Honest Technical Assessment

 

Founders are optimistic about timelines. I provide honest assessment of what's actually possible given current team and architecture. You get truth you can use for decisions, not hopeful projections.

 

Clean Exit Built In

 

I'm not trying to become the permanent CTO. I'm not positioning for equity or board seats. Engagement ends when objectives achieved. Clean transition to permanent leadership or scaled technical co-founder.

 

Protecting Your Reputation

 

When you introduce me to portfolio companies, I treat it as extension of your credibility. I'm professional, deliver what I promise, and make you look good for bringing me in.

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Background: Tim Newsom

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28 years comprehensive software engineering expertise. 15+ years leading high-performing engineering teams through complex implementations and digital transformations. 6+ years in Director and CTO level roles guiding organizations through critical technology decisions.

 

Currently pursuing MS in Artificial Intelligence while building fractional CTO practice focused on VC-backed growth stage companies.

 

Notable Outcomes Across Career:

• Prevented loss of $24M multi-year contract through emergency system stabilization when customer was ready to leave due to technical issues

• Reduced development time 70% through architectural innovation (6 months/5 engineers → 2 months/1 engineer)

• Turned $4-5M annual losses into profitability through technical stabilization and customer retention ($20M revenue → $24-26M profitable)

• Scaled engineering teams from 4 to 20+ members while maintaining delivery excellence

• Designed algorithms saving clients $10M+ annually through efficiency improvements

• Led technical transformations across fintech, retail analytics, transportation, and government sectors

• Participated in technical due diligence processes, understanding what investors evaluate in technical assessments

 

Leadership Philosophy:

 

Servant leadership focused on building high-trust, high-performance teams. I don't create dependencies, I build capability. Success is measured by what the team can do after I leave, not what they needed me to do while I was there.

 

Technical Depth:

 

Distributed systems, microservices architecture, cloud-native solutions (AWS), CI/CD implementation, automated testing strategies, system reliability engineering. I can have technical conversations with your best engineers and strategic conversations with your board.

 

Starting a Conversation

 

I'm building partnerships with VCs who want technical resources available for their portfolio companies.

 

If you have portfolio companies facing technical scaling challenges, or you want technical due diligence capability for investment decisions, let's talk.

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I'm taking on select engagements now while establishing longer-term VC partnerships. Early partners help shape how I serve this market.

 

Next Steps:

1. 30-minute intro call: Understand your portfolio needs and how I might help

2. Portfolio assessment: I can provide high-level technical health review of specific companies you're concerned about

3. Pilot engagement: Work with one portfolio company to demonstrate value before broader partnership

 

No lengthy contracts or commitments required to start. We both need to see if this works.

 

Contact:

Tim Newsom
Email: tim.newsom@dioscuri-es.com
Phone: 463-328-2524

 

Questions?

Have questions about how partnership works or what to expect?

View Frequently Asked Questions

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Or schedule a conversation to discuss your specific portfolio needs:

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Contact directly:
tim.newsom@dioscuri-es.com | 463-328-2524