Common questions

If you have a technology problem — systems that are slowing growth, a project that has stalled, infrastructure costs that are too high, or a technical decision you need a second opinion on — we are likely a good fit. We are most useful to founders, MDs, and operations leaders who need experienced technical thinking without hiring a full-time CTO. Book a free 30-minute discovery call and we will be direct about whether we can help.

Most of our clients are SMEs and mid-market businesses — typically 5 to 300 employees — who have real technology challenges but do not have the internal senior engineering leadership to address them. We also work with larger organisations on specific projects, audits, or advisory engagements. We do not have a minimum revenue or headcount requirement.

Yes. While we are registered in South Africa and most of our work is on the continent, we work with clients internationally. We are remote-first by design, so geography is rarely an obstacle. Payment can be arranged in ZAR or USD depending on your preference.

Our advisory retainers start at a fixed monthly fee for a defined number of hours and scope. We publish transparent retainer pricing on our Pricing page — there are no hidden fees or variable billing. The exact cost depends on the level of engagement: strategic-only, hands-on technical, or a combination. Most clients are on retainer, which means predictable monthly costs.

No. The first conversation is free. We use it to understand your situation, tell you honestly whether we can help, and if so, what shape an engagement might take. There is no sales process and no commitment required.

Yes. We offer fixed-fee project services for specific, bounded engagements — technical due diligence audits, proof-of-concept builds, project rescue assessments, and cost optimisation reviews are common examples. Fixed-fee means the price is agreed upfront; there are no overruns billed back to you. See our fixed-fee services for details.

A standard technical due diligence engagement — covering architecture review, code quality assessment, security posture, scalability, and team structure — typically takes 5 to 10 business days from when we have access to the necessary materials. We can compress this to 3 days for time-sensitive transactions if required. The output is a written report with findings and a prioritised recommendation list.

For advisory retainers, we can typically start within one to two weeks of agreeing terms. For fixed-fee projects, start date depends on the scope and our current capacity — usually one to three weeks. If you have an urgent situation, mention it when you reach out and we will do our best to accommodate.

We default to async-first: email and WhatsApp for day-to-day communication, structured written updates for progress reporting. We do not run unnecessary meetings. For advisory retainers, we typically have one structured check-in call per week or fortnight — the rest happens when it needs to. You will always know what we are working on and what we have found.

Both, depending on what the engagement needs. For advisory work, we operate alongside your team — attending relevant meetings, reviewing work, answering questions as they arise. For project delivery, we may work more independently and report back at agreed milestones. We adapt to what produces the best outcome rather than following a fixed methodology.

We are technology generalists, not industry specialists. Our clients have included fintech, retail, logistics, media, healthcare, legal services, and manufacturing businesses. The technology challenges that matter most — system reliability, team effectiveness, cost control, scalable architecture — appear across all industries. If you have a technology problem, the sector is rarely a barrier.