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brainiac/studio

Digital Studio

brainiac/studiobrainiac/studio
04 · cto as a service

Senior engineering judgement, on tap.

Fractional CTOs, technical due diligence, architecture reviews, and team coaching for founders and scale-ups who need engineering leadership without the full-time hire.

See our work →
4–20 hrsPer week — senior engineering presence
2 weeksStandard architecture review turnaround
$0Equity dilution. Cash-only engagements
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our point of view

The cost of bad technical decisions is non-linear.

Most companies don’t need a full-time CTO. They need someone senior who has shipped this kind of system before, can make calls under uncertainty, and can write the calls down so the team can act on them.

We embed alongside founders and engineering leaders for 4–20 hours per week. We pick architectures, hire engineers, run technical strategy, and translate engineering reality into board-level reporting.

4–20 hrsPer week — senior engineering presence
2 weeksStandard architecture review turnaround
$0Equity dilution. Cash-only engagements
cto as a service · process

How we run an engagement.

01

Listen

We start with conversations — founder, leadership, IC engineers. We read what we’re given and ask for what we’re not.

02

Diagnose

We document the current state in writing. Architecture, team, hiring, process. Where the leverage is. Where the risk is.

03

Decide

We make the calls or help you make them. Build vs buy, hire vs outsource, rewrite vs refactor — written down with the reasoning.

04

Operate

We stay involved at the cadence that matches your needs — weekly, bi-weekly, monthly — and adjust as the company changes.

faq

Frequently asked.

4 questions answered. Still have one? Reach out.

Engagements range from $6k/month (2 days) to $20k/month (1 day per week). We don’t take equity — too messy, and it bends our incentives.

4 questions
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