You're buying or building something big
A platform decision, a build-vs-buy call, a vendor contract with a long tail. The kind of choice that's cheap to get right now and expensive to unwind in two years.
Fractional CTO
A fractional CTO who still writes the code.
Most fractional CTOs stopped building years ago and advise from a slide deck. I lead technology strategy, architecture, and teams — and I'm still in the codebase every week. You get executive judgment that's grounded in what actually ships.
Nearly 20 years building enterprise softwareExecutive strategy + hands-on deliverySenior partner, not a staffing line
When it makes sense
The moments worth having a CTO for.
Most businesses don't need a full-time technology executive. They need one at four or five specific moments — and they need the decision to be right.
You have developers but no technical leader
The team ships, but nobody's setting architecture, reviewing decisions, or saying no. Velocity feels fine until it doesn't.
You inherited software nobody understands
A system built by someone who left, an AI-generated codebase nobody has reviewed, or a platform that's one outage from a very bad week.
You're spending on technology without a plan
Tools, licenses, contractors, and subscriptions accumulating — with no roadmap tying any of it to where the business is going.
The work
What you actually get.
- Technology strategy and a roadmap tied to business goals
- Architecture review and system design decisions
- Vendor evaluation, contract review, and build-vs-buy analysis
- Leading and mentoring your development team
- Technical hiring — job specs, interviews, and evaluation
- Due diligence on software you're buying or inheriting
How it works
Shaped around what the work actually needs.
Most engagements run on a monthly rhythm — a standing strategy session plus availability for decisions as they come up. When something bigger is on the table, a platform build, a team to stand up, a system to untangle, we scale the engagement to match.
Cadence
Monthlyretainer, scaled to the workA standing session with you and your team, plus availability between sessions for the decisions that can't wait — more when a project demands it.
Depth
Senior onlyno hand-offs, no juniorsYou work with me directly. The person evaluating your architecture is the person who has built and run these systems for two decades.
Fit
Straight answersfrom the first callI take on a limited number of engagements so each one gets real attention — and if what you need isn't what I do, I'll say so on the first call.
Why hands-on matters
Advice from someone who has to live with the answer.
A CTO who hasn't shipped in a decade can tell you what the industry does. One who's still building can tell you what will actually work in your codebase, on your timeline, with your team.
I read your code, not just your org chart
Architecture reviews mean something when the reviewer can open the repo. I can tell you what your system actually is, not what the last consultant's diagram claims.
Estimates grounded in reality
When your team says something takes six weeks, I know whether that's right — because I've built the same thing. That protects your budget and your roadmap.
I know what AI-built code hides
I use these tools daily to ship real systems. That means I know where AI-assisted development is genuinely fast, and where it quietly creates something you can't maintain.
Your developers respect it
Engineers take direction from people who can do the work. Being technical enough to be useful is what turns advice into something a team actually adopts.
Nick Chiafullo
President, NLC Consulting
For nearly 20 years I've architected enterprise software and led development teams. I'm still hands-on across the stack — .NET/C#, React, databases, cloud, and modern AI-assisted development — but what clients hire me for is judgment: building the right thing, keeping it maintainable, and owning it from idea to production. Connect on LinkedIn ↗
Start the conversation
What decision are you facing?
Tell us what's in front of you — the platform choice, the team question, the system you inherited. We'll tell you straight whether you need a fractional CTO, a build, or neither.
Prefer direct? nick@nlc.consulting or (856) 522-4261