Senior CTO judgment at the price of a part-time hire
CTO Advisory at $4,500 a month. Weekly calls, hands-on where it counts, month-to-month. IRS/IR35-safe US LLC invoicing.
Who this is for
Bootstrapped SaaS or agency founder at $30,000-$150,000 MRR, hitting a ceiling.
The pain today
- I need senior technical judgment on architecture, hiring, and product direction.
- A $250,000/year CTO is not in the budget.
- Trading 5-15 percent equity for part-time advisory is the most expensive money I could spend.
- Every bootstrapper I talk to says their CTO advisor is either invisible or overbearing.
The outcome you get
- A written weekly brief covering decisions, risks, and hires.
- Vetting of every senior hire and every vendor I consider.
- Architecture reviews that catch the expensive mistakes early.
- Month-to-month terms so the retainer flexes with revenue.
The bootstrapped founder's CTO dilemma
Bootstrapped SaaS founders hit the CTO dilemma around $30,000-$80,000 MRR. Growth plateaus because every technical decision lands on the founder's desk. A full-time CTO at $250,000 a year is two engineers of budget and two years of runway. A CTO advisor taking 5-15 percent equity is trading the company for part-time help. CTO Advisory at $4,500 a month solves it: senior judgment on a weekly cadence, no equity, month-to-month. Most bootstrapped SaaS founders run Advisory for 9-18 months and either hire a permanent CTO when MRR crosses $500,000 or stay on Advisory indefinitely.
What to escalate vs what to DIY
Bootstrapped founders benefit from a clear escalation playbook. Escalate to me: architecture decisions that lock in more than 3 months, hiring senior engineers, vendor selection over $1,000 a month, security posture, infrastructure migrations. Do yourself: daily operations, small feature prioritization, day-to-day team management. Most bootstrapped founders waste 30 percent of their time on decisions they should either delegate down or escalate up. The Advisory retainer clarifies which is which.
Hiring the first senior engineer
The single highest-leverage decision for a bootstrapped SaaS is the first senior engineer hire. A wrong hire costs 6-12 months and $150,000+. A right hire doubles shipping velocity and returns the full cost inside a year. I write the JD, run the inbound pipeline, screen the CVs, sit in on the technical interview, and help close. No recruiter fee. This is the service that most often pays for the full year of Advisory on its own.
Cancellation and value check
The Advisory retainer is month-to-month with 14-day money-back in the first two weeks. Every quarter I suggest a value check: are the decisions I helped with worth $13,500 for the quarter. If yes, we continue. If no, we adjust or cancel. This keeps the retainer honest. Bootstrapped founders do not need another vendor pretending to be indispensable. They need a CTO advisor who pays for themselves every quarter.
Recent proof
A comparable engagement, delivered and documented.
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Frequently asked questions
The questions prospects ask before they book.
- How many hours a week is the Advisory tier?
- Weekly strategy call plus async Slack or email. Roughly 4-6 focused hours a week. Hands-on time comes through a paired Applications retainer if needed.
- Can you code when needed?
- For architecture prototypes and code reviews, yes. For production feature work, we add an Applications retainer.
- Do you take equity?
- No. Fee-only. $4,500 a month, month-to-month.
- Can you help me hire my first engineer?
- Yes. This is one of the highest-leverage things the Advisory does. I write the JD, screen, interview, and help close. No recruiter fees.
- What if my MRR drops and I need to pause?
- Cancel end of month, restart when the business recovers. Many bootstrapped founders flex the retainer with their quarter-over-quarter revenue.
Ready to start?
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