My professional experience has had a certain dual nature to it that mimics a similar effect in my personal life. I tend to preface my self-identity and reason for being « mon raison d’être » as “husband” and “father.” As a husband and a father, I hope that being good at one makes me better at the other, and vice versa. That's exactly how I see my profession in retrospect. Creating businesses from scratch and meeting their technical needs as they grow have given me two distinct, but symbiotic, professional perspectives to draw from. Being both a career “Founder” and “Chief Technology Officer,” I'm excited to offer the union of these two perspectives in a single professional title that helps everyone to succeed and to bring their innovations to market at scale.

So first off, some definitions might be helpful...

Founder

A founder is an individual who initiates, nurtures, and builds a business or enterprise from the ground up - often with other co-founders. A founders conceives a unique idea, or identifies a market need for an existing idea. Founders are often seen as the visionaries who risk their time, resources, and energy to transform intangible “thoughts” into viable businesses. They are responsible for setting the strategic direction, securing funding, developing the product or service, assembling a team, and guiding the organization through its early stages and beyond. A founder’s role is multifaceted, encompassing leadership, decision-making, and often a willingness to navigate the uncertainties and challenges of the entrepreneurial journey. An experienced founder will follow thought leaders, align with mentors, engage in customer discovery, iterate on a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), seek validation from customers, gain traction, place high priority on finding Product-Market Fit, define a Product Roadmap, and manage common KPIs to scale. In short, a founder will seek to establish a symbiotic collective that can accomplish what might otherwise be a nearly impossible task. This has been virtually my entire, 30 year, professional experience as a Technical Co-Founder. Despite its many challenges and the tough lessons that I've learned along the way, I’ve enjoyed it immensely, as both a problem-solver and as an artist.

Fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

A “fractional” C-suite leader - in any discipline - is a rather recent, but growing phenomenon. A “fractional” is a very real member of a company’s executive team. He or she has all of the customary responsibilities that one would expect of his or her focus as a CMO, COO, CFO, CRO, and so on. The only difference is that he or she operates on a part-time, “fractional” basis. A “fractional” is not a consultant, although he or she may allocate some time to traditional consulting. If you think about it, a “consultant” rarely carries a “title.” In contrast, a “fractional” will inherently carry a title. Borrowing from technical vocabulary, you can think of contracting with a Fractional CTO as subscribing to a “CTO as a Service” type of business model. It is essentially metered executive time, typically purchased in blocks of hours or days, allowing a company to pay only for what it needs to meet its objectives. “CTO as a Service” is a model that's gaining rapid adoption all over the world, especially among startups and scale-ups who need experienced leadership and must maintain high investor confidence.

A Professional Power Coupling

Long before “fractional” began buzzing across the post-COVID business world, I was engaged in some manner of it. I’ve had to be creative and tolerant of risk - as most founders do - dividing my time to cover life expenses, and to finance startup projects through bootstrapping, fundraising, and even irregular payouts with M&A. When well-understood, dividing my time to serve others has had a powerful, symbiotic effect. I've tried to see the angles that can produce this effect under a theory of constraints. “Fractional”’s growing popularity is encouraging because it's a strong indication that others are acknowleding the same, symbiotic relationship. It makes sense for many business profiles… It's better to be practical and realistic about the cost of full-time top talent, and their own need to support themselves and their families. A full-time executive is not always best for a business based on its current stage or immediate objectives, but everyone needs “quality” senior leadership in some “quantity.” And with that premise, I’ve formalized my professional service offering to reflect it more intentionally.

The Structure

I’m dividing my time in a strategic manner. I’m sensitive to optimizing a symbiotic collective, and ensuring that it is well-understood up front.

• 4 hour blocks, Monday through Friday.
• Some blocks reserved for companies I’ve personally founded since 2020.
• One company can contract for multiple blocks if needed.
• Rate is based on CTO services needed and the likelihood to require some flexible, unbilled follow-up. (roughly 250 to 350 USD per hour)

Client Benefits

As a founder myself, I can fully appreciate all of the benefits of contracting with a “fractional.” Business stage and business objectives will determine when a full-time resource makes sense. When a business is free to see and meet its business objectives in a common-sense and practical way, everyone wins. Founders. Investors. Employees. Community. Here are some of the benefits that I see for a business contracting with me personally:

• Pay only for what you need and extend your financial runway.
• Scale your usage up or down to avoid painful “all-or-nothing” decisions.
• Keep your cap table cleaner with less reason to offer equity compensation for top talent.
• Strengthen your case for fundraising by showing additional entry and exit experience.
• Enjoy a cross-pollination of perspectives and ideas to avoid destructive “silos” and “tunnel-vision.”
  • With my wider landscape of companies served, navigating a changing world together.
  • With my active membership in large and global “fractional” communities who help each other with questions, shared ideas, and new opportunities.
• Billed off-payroll.
  • No executive bonuses or benefits.
  • Simple contract-based payments made to GJS & Company, LLC.
  • 1099 (USA), Outside IR35 (UK), etc.
  • Multiple currencies accepted, including USD, GBP, and EUR.
  • Payment via standard ACH, IBAN, or SWIFT networks.
  • General & Professional Liability insurance policies maintained.
  • Comfortable contract terms established together.

Ideal Customer Profile

I'm excited to connect with and serve enthusiastic fellow founders who share similar values, demand rapid adoption of new technology, and who - themselves - want to bring meaningful products and services to market that make a difference in the lives of their customers. An organization with any one or a combination of the following characteristics might be a particular good match, but none of the below is mandatory. A free discovery meeting is a great way to see where synergies exist.

If any of those sound like you, then I would certainly love to chat! If you're interested in learning more about becoming a fractional yourself, then please feel free to reach out. I’m so enjoying talking with people from all over the world. More than at any time in my life prior, I see the true power in human connection. Time in discovery together is absolutely free because I know that I’ll gain something just in hearing from you and learning more about how you see our rapidly changing world.