Richie Kastl · A CTO who still ships
Your entire technology operation, run by one executive who ships every week.
For multi-million-dollar companies that run on technology and have no one to lead it. You get the strategy of an executive and the hands of an engineer, in one engagement, for a fraction of a $400K hire.
Every seat is a $5–50M-revenue company. The portfolio is capped at five embedded seats, and one is open. See if you qualify.
$33M+
attributed pipeline & contracts across the portfolio
398K+
users served on a platform rebuild
4M+
monthly search impressions, including #1 for a 240K-volume term
5
seats in the portfolio, capped on purpose
The real problem
Your revenue runs on technology, and no one on your team can lead it.
It shows up in four different disguises. Underneath, it's always the same gap.
The PowerPoint CTO
Advisors who deliver a beautiful strategy deck, bill for the workshop, and vanish before anything gets built. You're left holding a roadmap nobody can execute, exposed on the one thing you can't see inside.
The agency treadmill
Every project is a new quote, every quote feels invented, and nobody on your side of the table can tell you if it's fair. So you overpay, quietly sure you're being taken and unable to prove it.
The invisible website
You paid five figures for a site Google can't find and visitors don't call from. A brochure that bleeds customers every day while you assume it's doing its job.
The AI question
Everyone says you need AI. Nobody will tell you which three automations pay for themselves and which thirty are expensive toys. So you wait, and watch competitors who moved pull ahead.
Every one of these is the same missing role: a senior person who owns the whole thing. Close that gap and they close together.
Meet your guide
I've been the one accountable when the system has to work.
For two decades I've been the person holding the pager when the platform has to stay up, the site has to rank, and the numbers have to land. I know the specific dread of owning a result that depends on technology you can't see inside.
That's the job I take off your desk. I own the roadmap, the vendors, the website, the automations, and the results, and because I've shipped production systems for that whole stretch, owning means building. I can do this for your company too.
Richie Kastl
Fractional CTO · Ohio, serving nationwide
How it works
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Step 1
Apply for the seat
A short application and a reply within one business day. If you qualify, the Technology Reality Audit comes next: two weeks, a clear-eyed read on your entire technology operation, and a 12-month roadmap you keep either way.
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Step 2
Start the engagement
I run the operation and ship to production every week. One accountable executive, and no vendors left for you to herd.
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Step 3
Watch it compound
Rankings climb, automations expand, and technology turns into an asset that pays you back instead of a bill that recurs.
Why it works
Three things change the week we start.
Momentum you can see
Something ships to production every week, guaranteed in writing. Progress stops being a promise and becomes a thing you watch happen.
The mental load leaves your desk
One accountable executive owns the roadmap, the vendors, and the builds. You stop being the least technical person in every meeting.
You're never hostage to anyone
Every system lives in accounts you own from day one, documented well enough to hand to anyone. That includes me.
The current portfolio
Four seats filled. Every one with results attached.
American manufacturers and tech platforms, each holding one of five embedded seats. Every number below is client-attributed.
Embedded seat · web & demand platform
American manufacturer
$23M+
attributed sales pipeline
Custom web platform and technical SEO infrastructure the client credits with $23M+ in inbound sales pipeline, with zero cold outreach.
Embedded seat · web infrastructure
American manufacturer
$10M
Fortune 100 contract closed
Engineered web infrastructure and search visibility behind a $10M contract closed with a Fortune 100 company.
Replatform · headless rebuild
American tech platform
398K+
users served
789K page views
18K peak concurrent
WordPress-to-headless replatform serving 398K+ users and 789K page views, holding 18K concurrent visitors at peak.
SEO & content systems
American tech platform
4M+
monthly search impressions
#1 for a 240K-volume term
Programmatic SEO and content architecture producing 4M+ monthly search impressions, including the #1 result for a 240K-volume search term.
Portfolio criteria
Owner-led · $5–50M revenue · Committed to shipping weekly
The flagship engagement
One engagement: your entire technology operation, run by one executive.
Six systems run by one accountable executive: e-commerce and web platform, SEO and content, AI and automation, ads & CRM reporting, executive oversight, and a direct line with 24-hour response. Backed by the Weekly Ship Guarantee: something ships to production every single week, or that month is free.
Full-time CTO
$300–500K/yr
Salary, equity, benefits, and a six-month search. And you'll still need the agencies to build everything.
Working with me
A fraction of that
The full stack on one flat retainer, guaranteed weekly shipping, 12-month term. Starts with a fixed-fee audit, fully credited if we work together.
See how it worksDoing nothing
The most expensive
Every quarter without an owner is margin handed to competitors who have one, and a website that keeps bleeding leads.
Every seat is a $5–50M-revenue company, and the roster stays capped on purpose. The portfolio is capped at five embedded seats, and one is open.
Everything the engagement covers
One executive across your whole stack.
Technology leadership
AI, automation & IT
Web & growth
Questions worth asking
Is this worth it against just hiring someone? +
A full-time CTO runs $300K to $500K all in, takes a six-month search, and still leans on agencies to build. This is one accountable executive who both decides and ships, for a fraction of that. The audit shows you the math before you commit to anything.
Will an outside executive really own our technology? +
Every system lives in accounts you own from day one, with a succession file that documents all of it. You hold the keys the whole way through. The ownership is written into the agreement, so it's a fact rather than a promise.
How do you know it'll work for our business? +
The same systems have produced a $23M pipeline, closed a $10M Fortune 100 contract, and served 398K users, across a capped portfolio of American manufacturers and tech platforms. The audit tells you exactly what they'll do for you before month one begins.
Why cap it at five seats? +
Every seat gets an executive rather than an account manager, and every seat is a multi-million-dollar company. That doesn't scale past a handful of companies, so the portfolio is capped at five embedded seats, and one is open right now. Once it fills, the next opening is whenever a seat ends.
How do engagements start? +
With the Technology Reality Audit: a two-week, fixed-fee, fixed-scope review of your platform, traffic, ad spend, automation opportunities, and technology spend. You keep the 12-month roadmap either way, and the full fee is credited against your first month if we end up working together.
New to the model? Read What is a fractional CTO? and Fractional CTO rates: what you should pay.
One of five seats is open. Apply.
If you qualify, we start with the Technology Reality Audit: two weeks, one fixed fee, fully credited if we work together. Worst case, you keep a 12-month roadmap that pays for itself.