Engagements
Four ways the work is scoped.
Artifacts, not activities. Qualification is mutual — each tier says who it is for and who it is not.
Diagnostic Sprint
Fixed · 3 weeks
A time-boxed read on technology risk before you commit more capital or change the operating plan.
What you get
- Written findings report for the deal team or board
- Scored risk register with severity and owners
- 90-day remediation plan with sequencing
- Live board or deal-team readout with Q&A
Who this is for. Funds and CEOs who need a clear picture in three weeks — before a close, a raise, or a reset of the technology plan.
Who this is not for. Teams that want ongoing Slack access, weekly standups, or a fractional seat. This is a diagnostic, not a retainer.
Timeline. Three weeks, fixed scope. Starts within days of kickoff, not months.
Week one. Access and document pull, stakeholder interviews, and a first pass of architecture, delivery, and security posture.
Most common engagement
Embedded Technology Leadership
Monthly retainer · 3-month minimum · 1–2 days/week
An operating seat alongside management while the engineering plan is rebuilt and executed.
What you get
- Weekly operating cadence with the leadership team
- Hiring and org-design decisions documented
- Architecture and delivery roadmap owned end-to-end
- Board-ready technology updates each cycle
Who this is for. Portfolio companies and growth-stage SaaS where technology is on the critical path to the thesis — and someone has to own the outcomes.
Who this is not for. Founders looking for a sounding board two hours a month, or teams that already have a strong CTO who only needs occasional advice.
Timeline. Three-month minimum. Continues month-to-month after that with 30 days' notice.
Week one. Calendar embed, access, current-state map of delivery and team, and a written 30-day priority list agreed with the CEO.
Technical Due Diligence
Per transaction
Pre-acquisition assessment of architecture, security, scalability, and the team — written for the IC, not for theater.
What you get
- IC-ready written diligence report
- Architecture and scalability assessment
- Security and compliance posture review
- Team and delivery-capacity evaluation
Who this is for. PE and VC deal partners who need an independent tech view before price is locked, or boards that want the same lens before a strategic move.
Who this is not for. Sellers shopping for a vanity report, or buyers who already decided and want a rubber stamp. I will document material risk if it is there.
Timeline. Typically 2–4 weeks depending on data-room readiness and access.
Week one. Data-room intake, management calls, and a scoped workplan with the diligence questions that matter to the model.
Portfolio Technology Partner
Fund retainer
Standing diligence capacity plus portfolio support through the bench — for funds that underwrite technology risk repeatedly.
What you get
- Reserved diligence capacity for live deals
- Portfolio company triage and sprint scoping
- Bench deployment for specialized work
- Quarterly technology risk summary across the book
Who this is for. Funds with active deal flow and multiple software holdings that need consistent technical judgment without rebuilding a diligence team each time.
Who this is not for. A single portfolio company looking for a fractional CTO. That is Embedded Technology Leadership, not a fund retainer.
Timeline. Retainer, typically reviewed quarterly. Capacity reserved for the fund's calendar.
Week one. Fund briefing on open deals and portfolio heat map, then a written coverage plan for the next 90 days.
Compare
Side-by-side
Scroll horizontally on small screens — the table stays intact for scanners.
| Criterion | Diagnostic Sprint | Embedded Technology Leadership | Technical Due Diligence | Portfolio Technology Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | Fixed · 3 weeks | Monthly retainer | Per transaction | Fund retainer |
| Shape | 3-week sprint | 1–2 days/week | Per transaction | Fund retainer |
| Minimum | One sprint | 3 months | One deal | Quarterly review |
| Primary artifact | Findings + risk register | Operating cadence + roadmap | IC-ready report | Diligence capacity + portfolio triage |
| Buyer | Deal team / CEO | CEO / board | Deal partner | Fund / operating partner |
| Best first step | Assessment → sprint | Assessment → embed | Conversation | Conversation |
Process
How engagements work
01
Start with the risk
Cold traffic takes the Technical Risk Assessment. Qualified conversations book a confidential call. Application forms stay bottom-of-funnel.
02
Scope the engagement
We pick the tier that matches the problem — sprint, embed, diligence, or fund retainer — and write the artifacts and dates before any invoice.
03
Deliver and decide
You get the written outputs, not a slide theater. From there you remediate, embed, or close the deal. If quality is the finding, Vigil is an option with the conflict disclosed.
FAQ
Questions that usually come before a kickoff
Adjacent product
When the finding is quality
When a diagnostic identifies testing and release-quality failure as the binding constraint, the client can be routed to Vigil — a spec-driven autonomous QA platform built by Helix Platform, Inc. (helixbots.ai), which I co-founded and run as CEO.
Conflict of interest, stated plainly: I have an ownership interest in Helix. Advisory recommendations that mention Vigil are disclosed as such. You can decline the referral and still get the full advisory work product. The assessment and the sprint do not require Vigil.
Pick the risk first. The tier follows.
Take the Technical Risk Assessment, or request a confidential conversation if you already know the shape of the work.
Two engagement slots for Q4 2026.