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Colin Longworth

How I Work

Clear technical direction, transparent pricing, and hands-on delivery.

Most conversations start with a specific technical milestone or bottleneck: a pending fundraise, an executive departure, technical debt slowing down feature delivery, or a need for experienced architecture decisions. That is the gap I fill: senior technical leadership, hands-on development, and team mentoring without full-time executive overhead.

The model

The CTO Cadence is a structured technical engagement: a 30-minute introductory call, a tailored scope and roadmap, and hands-on execution embedded with your team. No equity required, no hidden fees, and full transparency.

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How it starts

1

Initial consultation

A 30-minute conversation about your product, tech stack, team structure, and current technical friction. No pitch, no slides — just an honest evaluation of whether there is a strong mutual fit.

2

Scope & technical roadmap

We define clear priorities and deliverables tailored to what your business needs: whether that is a targeted architecture audit, a focused build sprint, or an ongoing fractional CTO retainer.

3

Embedded execution

Direct technical leadership embedded with your team: architecture design, regular code reviews, roadmap execution, and hands-on coding to unblock critical path features.

What's included

  • Architecture and tech strategy

    System design, stack decisions, scaling plans, and I help you see the tradeoffs so you can move forward with confidence.

  • Code review and quality

    Regular PR reviews, coding standards, and testing practices that keep your codebase healthy without slowing you down.

  • Roadmap and scope planning

    We break ambitious goals into shipped milestones. Figure out what matters, defer what doesn't, and keep the team moving.

  • Async support

    Slack access for those between-session questions, quick code reviews, and decisions that can't wait.

  • Vendor evaluation

    An honest take on tools and providers, no affiliate links, no sales pitch, just what actually works.

  • Hiring support

    JD reviews, technical screens, interview loops, and onboarding plans to help you build the right team.

  • Executive reporting

    Regular updates for stakeholders and investors, translated from engineering jargon into plain English.

Specialities

Technical Due Diligence

An honest assessment of your tech stack, team, and architecture. Useful when you're fundraising, preparing for acquisition, or planning a major pivot, and you need someone who's seen how these things play out.

Proof of Concept

Quick prototyping to test an idea before committing to a full build. I work with your team on success criteria, build the minimum that proves the concept, and give you a straight build-or-buy recommendation.

Pricing

Engagements are tailored to your stage and scope — from fixed-fee technical audits to monthly fractional CTO retainers. No equity requirements, no hidden fees, and transparent commitments. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, working with clients in Canada, the US, and globally.

Based in Hamilton, Ontario, serving clients in Toronto, the Golden Horseshoe, and across Canada.

Sound like a fit? Get in touch to discuss your product.