I'm a fractional CTO for bootstrapped and early-stage UK companies. I review what you've built, tell you plainly what matters and what doesn't, and leave you with a short list of changes you can act on.
Book a 20 minute callFour lines like these are usually worth more than forty pages of best practice.
You built your product with AI tools, and now real customers are using it.
Lovable, Bolt, Cursor and Claude have made it possible to ship without a developer. I'll check what's under the bonnet: exposed keys and weak logins, hosting and AI bills that will balloon, what breaks at 100 or 1,000 customers, and whether a developer could pick it up.
Everyone says you should be using AI, but you're not sure where it helps or what it's doing with your data.
You're hoping to raise or sell in the next year, and dreading what technical due diligence will turn up.
You're making technical decisions on your own, your AWS bill keeps creeping up, or your developers are busy on the wrong things.
An outside opinion with no agenda.
Most technical advice comes with strings attached. Cloud providers want you on more services, agencies want the build contract, and software vendors want the subscription. I don't resell anything, I don't take referral fees and I'm not angling for a big project. I gain nothing from what you choose, so the advice is simply what's right for your business.
Where the money's going on AWS, what's wasted, and the quick wins to bring it down.
Whether your setup is sound, where it'll break as you grow, and what to leave well alone.
Access, backups, recovery, and the gaps a customer or acquirer would ask about.
How your team spends its time, and the process you can drop rather than add.
The handful of places where AI will genuinely save time or money, and the hype you can safely ignore.
AI coding assistants and agents set up properly, so your team ships faster without piling up code nobody understands.
What data goes to which AI provider, a sensible usage policy, and the answers customers will ask for.
Keeping AI spend under control, avoiding lock-in, and deciding what to build versus buy.
Find the problems before a buyer's advisers do, while they're cheap to fix and can't be used to chip the price.
The technical questions investors and acquirers ask, and where your answers are weak.
Whether the company actually owns its code: contractor agreements, open source licences and dependencies.
Access control, disaster recovery, incident history and the key-person risks a buyer will spot.
GDPR basics, where customer data lives, and a clear account of how you use AI.
You get a red, amber, green report, a prioritised fix list and a ready-to-use pack of technical documents for the data room. Support during the live process is available on a retainer.
Free, to check it's a good fit. If it isn't, I'll tell you.
Read-only access to your AWS account and code, plus an hour with you or your lead developer.
The handful of changes that matter most, in plain English, talked through on a call.
Many companies just want the report, and that's fine. If you'd like ongoing support, a monthly retainer from £1,000 gives you a regular call, a second opinion on the big technical decisions, help rolling out AI tools and hiring developers, and someone senior to think things through with as the business grows. Cancel any time.
I've been building software for twenty years and running startup technology for most of that. I like simple solutions, small teams and spending money carefully, which is why I work best with bootstrapped and early-stage companies. I also know what it takes to pass the technical scrutiny that comes with fundraising, M&A and successful exits.
AWS is where I'm strongest, but I've worked with Azure too, and most of each review applies whatever you run on.
Yes, arguably more so. It's far cheaper to start with the right tools and a clear policy than to untangle a free-for-all later. I'll also tell you honestly if AI isn't worth it for you yet.
Ideally six to twelve months before you raise or go to market, which leaves time to fix what it finds. If you're already in a process it's still worth doing, just faster and more focused.
Read-only access only. I'll never change anything in your account, and I'm happy to sign an NDA before we start.
Often more so. If you're working with an agency or freelancers, an independent view of what they've built is money well spent.
The reviews and retainer are advisory, so your team keeps ownership. If there's a small, well-defined piece of hands-on work, we can talk about it.
Twenty minutes, no obligation. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help.
Book a callOr email hello@stuartgreenhall.com