I have an idea but no technical team. Where do I start?

Start with a discovery conversation, not a build. We spend the first sessions turning the idea into a written scope: who the user is, what the first version has to prove commercially, which integrations are unavoidable, and what it will cost. You can take that document to any developer, including one who is not us. Most founders who skip this step pay for features that never get used.

Can I book a one-off consulting session without starting a project?

Yes. A 90-minute session with a senior engineer covers one real decision: an architecture you are unsure about, a quote you cannot evaluate, a stack choice, or a scaling problem. You get a written summary afterwards with the recommendation and the reasoning. There is no obligation to hire us, and many sessions end with you implementing it yourself.

All services

Technical Consulting Sessions

Sometimes you do not need a team, you need one straight answer from someone who has shipped the thing you are about to build. Book a session and bring the real problem: an architecture you are unsure about, a quote you cannot evaluate, a stack choice, a scaling wall, or a build-versus-buy decision. You leave with a written recommendation, not a sales pitch.

This is you if

You have a quote in front of you and no way to tell whether the number is honest
Two developers you trust have given you opposite advice
Something works today and you do not know whether it survives ten times the traffic
You are choosing between building it, buying it, and doing without
A technical decision is blocking a commercial one and nobody neutral has looked at it

If none of these describe your situation, this is probably the wrong service. The other service lines may fit better, and a consulting session is the cheapest way to find out.

What's included

90-minute session with a senior engineer, not an account manager
Architecture review, stack selection, scaling diagnosis or build-versus-buy analysis
Independent evaluation of a quote or proposal you have received from someone else
Written summary after the call: the recommendation, the reasoning and the tradeoffs rejected
No obligation to hire us afterwards, and most sessions end with you doing it yourself

Typical stack

Architecture reviewCost modellingScaling analysisVendor evaluation

What you get

A decision you can defend to your board, your investors or your own team
The expensive mistakes identified before they are in production
A written artefact your developers can act on directly

Re: this serviceDiscuss

How the engagement runs

Before the call
You send the actual artefacts: the quote, the diagram, the repository, the traffic numbers. We read them first so the session is not spent on context.
The session, 90 minutes
One decision, examined properly. We will tell you when the honest answer is that your current plan is already the right one.
After, within 2 days
The written recommendation, with the reasoning laid out so someone who was not on the call can follow it.

What you walk away with

A 90-minute call with a senior engineer who has shipped the thing you are about to build
A written summary within two business days: the recommendation, the reasoning, and the options rejected
Where relevant, a rough cost and time envelope for each option so the decision has numbers attached
Permission to ignore us — the artefact is yours and your own developers can act on it directly

What this does not cover

Implementation; a session is advice, and if you want us to build it that is a separate conversation
A full architecture review of an existing system, which is scoped as a code audit instead
Ongoing availability between sessions — that is what the fractional CTO retainer is for

Naming the exclusions up front is cheaper for both of us than discovering them in week six.

How to start

Reviewed 2026-09-09. Figures in USD, excluding tax.

Technical consulting session

$600

per 90-minute session, paid up front

You have one decision in front of you — a quote you cannot evaluate, an architecture you are unsure about, a stack choice, a scaling wall — and nobody neutral has looked at it.

If it goes wrong

No obligation to hire us afterwards, and we will tell you plainly when the plan you already have is the right one. Many sessions end with you implementing it yourself.

Why not next quarter: The decisions that are cheap to change are the ones you have not made yet. A session before you commit costs $600; the same conversation after six weeks of building costs a rewrite.

Book this — $600 Send the details instead

Every offer, side by side

Before you ask

I have an idea but no technical team. Where do I start?: Start with a discovery conversation, not a build. We spend the first sessions turning the idea into a written scope: who the user is, what the first version has to prove commercially, which integrations are unavoidable, and what it will cost. You can take that document to any developer, including one who is not us. Most founders who skip this step pay for features that never get used.
Can I book a one-off consulting session without starting a project?: Yes. A 90-minute session with a senior engineer covers one real decision: an architecture you are unsure about, a quote you cannot evaluate, a stack choice, or a scaling problem. You get a written summary afterwards with the recommendation and the reasoning. There is no obligation to hire us, and many sessions end with you implementing it yourself.

Read every answer

Two ways to start, both of them cheap.

Book a call and talk it through, or write the problem down and send it — whichever you would actually do today. Either way you get a reply from an engineer within one business day, and an honest answer about whether we are a fit.

Book a discovery call Send a project brief

Not ready for either? A $600 consulting session buys one straight answer with no obligation to hire us.

Rev. 01Book a call