Your fractional CTO partner
I give you decisive technology leadership without the red tape and agency overhead.
I'm Waseem. I work directly with founders and SMEs as a fractional CTO; designing architecture, guiding teams, and creating development processes that match your stage. I write code, build and devise strategy every day.
How I work
Fractional CTO / Advisory
Founder time every week
Working sessions with you and PMs to make decisions and move your projects forwards.
Tech Decisions
Pragmatic approach to advising on tech decisions, helping you build for the future.
Delivering value
Clear visible progress, and measurable outcomes that connect engineering work to business goals.
AI leverage
Pragmatic AI to supercharge your team, not distract it.
I help you pick the right AI path, ship quickly with guardrails, and keep humans in the loop where it matters.
Plan
Use AI to plan your product
Shape your roadmap, validate ideas, and define what to build next with AI as a thinking partner.
Code
AI-powered teams without chaos
Integrate AI powered coding tools into your dev workflow.
Iterate
Learn from usage, refine and improve
Measure what's working, drop what isn't, and feed real usage data back into the next cycle.
Ship
Use AI only where it improves your product
Thoughtful deployment of AI features where and when needed. AI that delivers value and not just PR.
Manifesto
The Fractional Mindset
What does being a "Fractional CTO" actually mean? How do you provide the greatest impact for your clients in the shortest space of time, all whilst keeping their business goals in mind?
These are some ideas I work towards when engaging with my clients.
Outcomes, not ownership
A fractional leader who makes a real difference matters more than a permanent one who manages the status quo.
Simplify ruthlessly
Find the shortest path from idea to value and take it. Complexity is usually a sign that nobody made a decision.
Build systems that outlast me
If the process relies on my presence to function, it is a dependency. The goal is capability transfer, not continued reliance.
I treat your business like I would my own
Care about the business without needing to own it. I see the bigger picture beyond just the tech and timelines, but how it will affect the team and the whole organisation.
Leverage over labour
Automation beats repetition. The fractional model only works when your time is spent on judgment, not tasks that a well-designed system could handle without you.
Fractional doesn't mean temporary
Stepping away from a day-to-day role doesn't mean disappearing. It means giving clients space to grow, and being there when they need a sounding board.
Who I work with
Tailored support for the stages where getting it wrong is expensive.
Whether you're proving product-market fit or scaling a platform, engagements are shaped to your context.
Early-stage
Startups
Shape an MVP, align build vs. buy decisions, and keep velocity without eroding quality.
Growth
Scale-ups
Stabilise platforms, address technical debt, and mature engineering practices while shipping visible progress.
Established
SMEs
Modernise stacks, set up reliable release processes, and turn business goals into practical tech plans.
What people say
From people I've worked with
"Waseem engaged with us over a number of years to initially liaise with an overseas developer where our relationship had broken down. He was able to get us our source code, develop our product and help the business pivot into a different direction. His experience helped save us tens of thousands of pounds by directing our tech strategy in the right direction."
"In a time of crisis, even before official engagement, he was able to help me make clear tech decisions without vested interests. He was pivotal in negotiating investigations from regulatory bodies and ensuring our business continued to operate. Waseem still directs my tech strategy to this day. He is the only person I would turn to not only for his expertise but his honesty, trust and transparency."
"His single-mindedness to get things done and strong work ethic have pulled us through many difficult times and to a finished product. Waseem's clarity of vision and drive to deliver something genuinely meaningful in the workplace wellbeing space has kept us focused on what matters."
Notes from the Field
Notes on engineering leadership, AI, and building products
Operating notes and essays from fractional engagements and my own product work.
Next step
Ready for decisive technology leadership?
Let's have a conversation about where you are and where you want to be. No pitch, just honest advice.