Personal Policy

I work with founders as a paid fractional CTO. For the engagement scope and next steps, see Fractional CTO Engagement.

I accept monetary compensation only. Standard engagements are prepaid against a USD-denominated invoice; Wise and cryptocurrency are accepted payment rails. I do not accept equity or other ownership shares, project tokens, revenue share, or any other non-cash compensation at any stage of the relationship. The fundraising exception below changes only the timing and amount of monetary payments. I do not publish rates, fees, budgets, discounts, or other compensation figures online. I discuss money and all financial terms with founders by phone call only.

What I Accept

What I Don't Accept

No Free Cofounder

I work at founder level. Active paid engagements receive my time, judgment, and technical leadership.

I do not operate as an unpaid fractional CTO through calls, texts, WhatsApp, Discord, email, or direct messages. Those channels are part of an active paid engagement.

No unpaid planning, reviews, strategy, technical decisions, implementation advice, or ongoing client work is available. An intro call is for fit, context, agenda, and deciding whether we should work together. It is not a working session.

Fundraising advice and investor introductions are available only inside an active paid engagement.

Working Relationship

If you hire me, you work directly with me as a technical CTO / CTO. Produvia, my agency, may handle contracting and invoicing.

At the early stage, I own the technical side from idea to MVP and from MVP to product-market fit. The work can include product planning, technical planning, hands-on execution, MVP audits, marketing advice, sales advice, and fundraising advice inside an active paid engagement when they affect execution.

I stay involved until I have replaced myself. That can mean helping you hire a full-time CTO, or building agentic systems and workflows so a non-technical founder can keep operating without me and unlock new execution capacity. This transition support is included on standard full-rate engagements.

Payment Terms

All work is prepaid. For ongoing work, I generally bill monthly at the start of each cycle. I may make case-by-case exceptions for bi-weekly or weekly cycles.

Payment sent does not mean payment received. I only begin work after payment has cleared and the funds are available in my account. I do not control payment processing times (bank transfers, Wise, crypto confirmations, etc.) and will not begin work while payment is in transit.

Pricing Model

No hourly billing. Monthly is standard. Bi-weekly and weekly are case-by-case.

I do not publish rates, fees, budgets, discounts, or other compensation figures. I discuss money and all financial terms with founders by phone call only.

I prefer Wise and crypto.

Wise — Set it up early. Each step is sequential:

1. Verification — Business: up to 2 working days. Personal: 1–2 working days. You cannot fund the account until this clears.
2. Funding — bank transfers to Wise take 1–4 working days, 1–6 for Swift. This credits your Wise balance.
3. Sending to me — fast once your balance is funded (minutes to same day), but I only start after funds clear my account.

Until I confirm receipt, assume payment is in transit. Plan for 1–2 weeks from signup to kickoff, especially your first time.

Crypto: I prefer stablecoins such as USDC, USDT, and USDe. I also accept BTC, ETH, and SOL.

Invoices are denominated in USD. Crypto amounts use the USD invoice amount. You cover network fees. Wallet details and payment instructions are sent by invoice, on request, or during payment follow-up.

For service scope and next steps, see Fractional CTO Engagement. Compensation amounts and other financial numbers are discussed by phone call only and are not published online.

Fundraising Exception

If you are actively raising, we may agree by phone call to a reduced monetary rate and defer part of it as cash back-pay until the raise closes. This is the only exception to full prepayment and changes only the timing and amount of monetary payments; it does not permit non-cash compensation. If we agree to a bi-weekly or weekly cycle, the same principle applies.

Back-pay is the difference between what you paid at the active-raise rate and what you would have paid at the standard rate. It is due when your raise closes. If payment will take more than one week because of a wire or bank delay, tell me before the week ends and give me the expected payment date. Undisclosed delays pause work.

Investor introductions: If we are actively working together, I can suggest warm investor introductions from my network. Introductions are opt-in, not guaranteed, and not a standalone fundraising service. I do not make investor introductions before an active paid engagement starts.

Conflict of interest: When I suggest introductions, I have a financial interest in your raise succeeding. Your rate moves to the standard rate, and back-pay becomes due when the round closes. I flag this so you can weigh my suggestions accordingly.

If your raise does not close: We can move to standard rates, reduce scope, pause, or agree on a later back-pay settlement plan. I am open to later payment when a raise does not close, as long as we communicate clearly and agree on the plan.

Start and Kickoff Timing

I start only after payment has cleared and reached the bank. I schedule kickoff after funds arrive. The cycle begins once both sides confirm the kickoff time.

For first-time payments, I require funds to be fully cleared before any work begins. For established clients with a history of on-time payments, I may begin the next cycle once payment is sent, at my discretion.

Transactional Meetings

I default to asynchronous communication. My background, experience, and technical capabilities are available on my About page and LinkedIn. If a question can be resolved by text or email, it does not need a meeting.

Money, compensation, rates, fees, budgets, discounts, and other financial terms are discussed with founders by phone call only. I do not negotiate or disclose those figures through text, email, WhatsApp, Discord, or direct messages.

A first intro call is for mutual fit, context, and deciding whether there is a reason to work together. It still requires a short agenda and a concrete outcome. It is not a working session.

I do not schedule additional exploratory calls. Before a second call:

• Proof: Send the relevant product, document, demo, or other proof of work.
• Price: Discuss my current commercial terms by phone call only and confirm they are within range.
• Purpose: Define the decision the meeting should produce.

A second call is a decision call about beginning a paid engagement. Ongoing fractional CTO advice starts inside that engagement.

Meeting Attendance

• No calendar invite and meeting link means no meeting.
• New prospects and anyone who previously missed a call must confirm attendance by text at least two hours before the meeting.
• After one no-show, the prospect owns rescheduling and sending the new invite.
• After two no-shows, communication remains asynchronous until Proof, Price, and Purpose are satisfied.

If you're unsure whether your project fits, ask me directly. Clear terms save time for both sides.

Ready to Work Together?

If you want a paid engagement with clear terms, start with the service page.