Technical partnership
A product that is running will sooner or later raise the decisions that commit you: architecture, hosting, security, debt, choosing a supplier. What is missing then is not another pair of hands. It is senior expertise facing those decisions, available when they come up rather than three months later.
When to call us
- _A structural choice to settle: architecture, hosting, stack, compliance. A senior opinion before committing.
- _A prototype to make production-ready: going from a tool that works to a product that holds, without a needless rewrite.
- _An audit before a funding round: the real state of the code, security and debt, with a costed remediation plan.
- _A supplier to keep honest: reviewing a quote, challenging a delivery, staying in control of what is built for you.
- _A team to hire: defining the profiles, running the technical interviews, structuring the onboarding.
- _Something to ship quickly: a feature, a migration, a screen redesign, started the same day.
The situation
A product that runs, users, a team moving fast: at that stage the structural trade-offs arrive on their own. An outside view to challenge them often changes what they cost six to twelve months later.
The problem is not finding someone, it is that every option demands a concession. Hiring technical leadership takes time and a durable commitment, usually before you can carry it. A freelancer leaves with the knowledge of your product. An agency bills its own learning on every project.
A technical partnership is a third way: a senior team available continuously, and able to produce when there is something to produce.
Two parts, one point of contact
A senior technical lead, continuously. Reachable at any time to arbitrate, challenge and de-risk your decisions, without ceremony: architecture questions, hosting choices, compliance, reviewing a quote, sitting in on a conversation with a supplier or a candidate.
One point of contact, with all four partners behind them: engineering, infrastructure, data, product, design, strategy. This part is covered by a light monthly retainer, deliberately low. It pays for availability, not for a volume of days.
Delivery when there is something to build. A feature, a migration, a screen redesign, a remediation effort: each piece is described, estimated and approved by you before it starts, then launched the same day. No volume commitment, no staffing delay, and only the days worked are billed, at a preferential day rate reserved for partnership clients.
The consequence is that a quiet period costs the retainer and nothing more, and an intense one requires no hiring, no tender, and no ramp-up.
What a partnership is not
It is not staff augmentation. We do not sell days to be filled. The retainer covers availability, not a quota of hours to burn before the month ends.
It is not a long commitment. No minimum term. A partnership is judged on what it brings, not on a contract that holds you.
It is not an intermediary. No account manager, no junior placed on the engagement, no subcontracted team. Your contacts are the four partners, and they are the ones doing the work.
What you get
- _De-risked decisions: a senior opinion before you commit, not after
- _Context always current: the team follows your product continuously, no ramp-up billed
- _No staffing delay: a need raised in the morning is estimated and launched the same day
- _The right senior on each subject: frontend, backend, infrastructure, data, product, design
- _No days committed upfront: beyond the retainer, only the days actually worked are billed
Compared with the alternatives
| Vezero partnership | Hiring a CTO | Freelancer | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to mobilise | Same day | 3 to 6 months | 2 to 4 weeks | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Knowledge of your context | Continuous | Total, after onboarding | Leaves with the engagement | Billed on every project |
| Breadth of expertise | Four seniors, every discipline | One profile, one culture | One speciality | Varies with staffing |
| Cost when nothing happens | Light retainer | Full salary | None, but unavailable | Days committed upfront |
| Reversibility | No minimum term | Terminating a contract | Immediate | Contractual commitment |
Frequently asked questions
Does the monthly retainer buy a number of days?
No. It pays for the team’s availability, not for a quota of hours to burn. Days actually worked are billed separately, and only when there is something to build.
Can we start with an audit?
Yes, and that is often how a partnership starts: the audit establishes the real state of the product, the partnership takes over the decisions and the work that follow.
What happens to the partnership if we hire an in-house team?
It supports that hiring: defining the profiles, running the technical interviews, structuring the onboarding. Then it shrinks or stops, with no minimum term to see out.
How we frame, arbitrate and commit is set out in detail in the Vezero Method.