CTO advisory services
CTO advisory services
for crypto and fintech leadership.
Put a senior crypto and payments engineer beside your leadership on a standing or short-term CTO advisory engagement. We review the architecture, the licence scope and the delivery plan, then write down what to build, what to drop and what to fix first. Every artefact stays with you.
- EU-based engineers
- MiCA-ready architecture
- GDPR-compliant delivery
- Client-owned output
Signals
When CTO advisory beats another hire
Five moments where a few senior weeks change the outcome and a short-term CTO advisory engagement is cheaper than either the wrong hire or the wrong build. If none of these fit, say so on the call — we will point you at the right service instead.
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You are about to commit a big build budget
The plan looks fine on a slide. Nobody senior has stress-tested it against a real ledger, a real audit or a real load curve. One review is cheaper than one rebuild.
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The licence scope keeps moving
MiCA and PSD2 wording changes what you must store and prove. We map each rule to a system, so the build stops guessing.
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You need to hire, not just ship
Job specs, interview loops and a first-90-days plan for crypto engineers. We help you pick people you can keep.
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A vendor decision is blocking the roadmap
Custody, KYC, market data, card rails. We score the shortlist against your scope and write down the trade-offs.
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Delivery has quietly stalled
Releases slip and nobody can say why. We look at the branch flow, the test gates and the on-call load, then fix the bottleneck.
Scope
Six areas our CTO advisory covers
Crypto depth and regulated delivery in one head. That mix is the whole point of the engagement — and the reason our CTO advisory reads code, not just slides.
Need the rules mapped in code? That work sits with our compliance engineering practice. Related specialised advisory shapes: fractional CTO services, technical due diligence services, M&A technical due diligence services and technology vendor due diligence. Platform scope lives on fintech infrastructure and custody choices on wallet and custody engineering. Delivery patterns: how we deliver. On-ramp architecture: on- and off-ramp integration.
- 01 Findings ranked by risk
Architecture review
We read the code and the diagrams. You get a written view of what holds, what breaks and what to do first.
- 02 Rule-to-system matrix
Compliance mapping
Each rule becomes a system change with an owner. Your advisers get technical evidence they can actually use.
- 03 Hardening backlog
Security posture
Key handling, signing paths, access control and secrets. We check the blast radius of every admin action.
- 04 Costed delivery plan
Roadmap and cost
We size the work in teams and weeks. Then we cut the plan into a launchable first slice.
- 05 Hiring plan and specs
Team and hiring
Org shape, seniority mix and interview design. We sit in on loops when you want a second read.
- 06 Scored shortlist
Vendor selection
We write the scoring sheet with you. No referral fees, no favourite supplier, no lock-in.
Cadence
How a month of CTO advisory actually runs
No vague retainer. The rhythm is fixed and every block has an output you can read — the same shape whether the engagement is standing or a short-term CTO advisory sprint.
| Block | When | Who joins | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kick-off | Week 1 | Founders, lead engineers | Scope, access, risk list |
| Deep review | Weeks 1–2 | Advisor plus your leads | Written findings |
| Working session | Weekly, 90 min | Product and engineering | Decisions logged |
| Written note | Monthly | Board and investors | Progress and risk update |
| Ad-hoc calls | On request | Whoever is blocked | Same-day unblock |
Arc
CTO advisory engagement, from first call to hand-off
Four steps, each with an exit. Short-term CTO advisory usually ends after step two; standing engagements roll into step three. You can stop after any step and still hold something useful.
- 01
Scoping call
45 minutes, free
You describe the product and the deadline. We say plainly whether advisory is the right spend.
- 02
Review sprint
2–3 weeks
Code, docs and interviews. It ends with a written plan you own and can hand to anyone.
- 03
Standing advisory
Monthly, rolling
A named senior advisor on a weekly slot. Cancel with 30 days' notice.
- 04
Hand-off or build
Your call
Your team runs the plan. Or we staff it with our own engineers.
Prefer a fixed price and a dated plan? Look at a fixed-scope product build. Advisory pairs well with our exchange work and payment gateway engineering.
Questions
FAQ: CTO advisory services
Six short answers on scope, fit and how short-term CTO advisory differs from a fractional CTO. The rest we cover live.
How do your CTO advisory services differ from a fractional CTO?
The rhythm is close, with one difference. Our advisor sits on a delivery team, so the advice comes with engineers who can build it. You get architecture, compliance and hiring calls from a senior who has shipped crypto and payments systems, plus optional staffing when the plan needs hands.
Do you offer short-term CTO advisory for a single decision?
Yes. A short-term CTO advisory engagement is typically a two-to-three-week review sprint around one open question: a build-or-buy call, a MiCA readiness gap, a licence submission, a due-diligence request or a stalled release. You get a written view you can hand to the board, with no obligation to continue.
Who will we actually work with?
A named senior engineer with shipped crypto, wallet, payments or compliance systems behind them. You meet the advisor on the scoping call before anything is signed, and the same person stays on the account for the length of the engagement.
How is confidentiality and access handled?
We sign your NDA or send ours before scoping. Repository and drive access is read-only until you decide otherwise. Any production access follows your identity provider, your key custody and your logging — the advisor never asks for a shared account or an unmanaged secret.
Can CTO advisory turn into a build?
Often, and only when you want it to. Many buyers move to a dedicated team or staff augmentation once the plan is agreed, so the same people who wrote the plan also run it. There is no obligation and no exclusivity — you own every artefact and can take it to another partner instead.
What if you find the existing plan is sound?
We say so and stop. A short written report that confirms your thinking, ranks the residual risks and unblocks a board or investor conversation is a valid outcome. We would rather end an engagement early than invent work.
Book a discovery call for CTO advisory
Send the scope, the deadline and the open question. We reply with a view on whether standing or short-term CTO advisory fits, not a pitch deck. The first call costs nothing.