A technical partner for your startup
Finding a technical co-founder can take longer than building the product. We take responsibility for the whole technology side for the long term: the CTO role, architecture, the team and, when the time comes, hiring your in-house engineers.
Who needs a technical partner
This format is for companies that will depend on their technology for years and need someone accountable for it at the founder level.
- Non-technical founders who have searched for a technical co-founder without success
- Startups preparing for pre-seed or seed where investors ask who owns the technology
- Companies whose CTO has left and who need continuity without stopping development
- Teams with a working MVP that now needs architecture for scale and a hiring plan
- Founders who can pay part of the cost in cash but not a full senior team
What the technical partner role covers
CTO responsibilities
A senior person from our side acts as your technical lead: roadmap, estimates, priorities with the founders and a seat at management meetings.
Architecture
Technology choices, system design, security and scalability decisions made for the product you will have in two years, not only for the MVP.
Development team
Designers, mobile and web developers, QA and DevOps from Revol Source, scaled up or down as the roadmap requires.
Investor support
We join investor calls on technology, prepare materials for technical due diligence and answer questions about architecture, costs and risks.
Hiring in-house
When you are ready to build your own team, we help write roles, interview candidates and onboard them into the codebase.
Handover
A planned transfer of technology ownership to your in-house CTO or team, with documentation, access and a transition period.
A mixed payment model: cash and equity
A long-term technical partnership is usually paid partly in cash and partly in equity. The cash part covers the team’s direct costs, so the work stays sustainable for years; the equity part reflects the leadership role and the risk we share with the founders. The balance between the two depends on your funding, stage and the size of the team, and it can shift over time, for example after a funding round.
- Monthly cash component for the development team
- Equity for the CTO role and long-term commitment, vesting over time
- A balance that can be revised after funding rounds
- All terms fixed in a written agreement
How technical decisions are made
Founders own the product and the business; we own the technical approach and are accountable for it. Major decisions such as the stack, architecture changes, third-party services or large infrastructure costs are documented with options, trade-offs and a recommendation, and agreed with the founders before they are made. You always know why something is built the way it is and what it costs to change later.
- Written decision records for significant technical choices
- A technical roadmap aligned with the business plan
- Regular reporting on progress, costs and risks
- Full access for the founders to code, infrastructure and accounts
Planning the exit from day one
A good technical partner makes itself replaceable. From the start we keep the code, infrastructure and documentation in a state that an in-house team can take over. When the company is ready, usually after a funding round, we hire and onboard your engineers, transfer responsibilities step by step and stay available for an agreed transition period. What happens to our equity at that point is defined in the agreement.
- Code, cloud and store accounts owned by the company
- Documentation and onboarding materials kept current
- A transition plan with agreed stages and timing
- Clear rules for our role and equity after handover
How a technical partnership starts
Intro and fit
We talk about the company, the product, funding and what you expect from a technical partner. Both sides decide whether to continue.
Technical assessment
For an existing product we review the code and infrastructure; for a new one we outline the architecture. You get a written assessment and a first roadmap.
Terms
We agree on the team, the cash and equity split, vesting and the handover rules. Terms are fixed in a written agreement.
Onboarding
The technical lead joins your management routine, the team is assembled and access and processes are set up in the company’s name.
Long-term work
Development, releases, investor support and hiring run in regular cycles, with reporting to the founders.
Transition in-house
When the company is ready, we hire and onboard your team and hand over technology ownership step by step.
What we bring to a partnership
Product and engineering
- Product discovery and MVP scoping
- UX/UI design
- Native iOS (Swift) and Android (Kotlin)
- React Native
- Backends and APIs: PHP/Laravel, Python
- Web apps: Vue.js, React
AI and automation
- LLM integrations
- AI agents and assistants on company data
- n8n, Make, Zapier
- Integrations with CRM, payments and accounting
Quality and operations
- Manual and automated QA
- CI/CD and cloud infrastructure
- Monitoring, backups, security updates
- App Store and Google Play releases
Technical leadership
- Architecture and technology choices
- Estimates and technical roadmap
- Technical due diligence support
- Hiring and onboarding of an in-house team
Ways to set up the partnership
Cash plus equity
The standard setup: the team is paid monthly and the leadership role is compensated with equity.
Fractional CTO first
A technical lead only, to help with architecture, estimates and investors before a team is needed.
Takeover of an existing product
We take over technology from a departing CTO or another team and continue as the technical partner.
Reviews
We treat each client and his project with love.
Revol team continues to streamline the client’s development capabilities through their high-quality work and reliable support. They communicate effectively and exhibit a strong understanding of the client’s needs and business.
Tomas
The work from Revol, have fully met expectations and satisfied the client. Their fresh approach and ability to remain available for support have been valuable assets. Customers can bring them on for a communicative, client-oriented team to achieve their goals with.
Andrey
Frequently asked questions
Is a technical partner the same as a technical co-founder?
Functionally it covers the same ground: responsibility for technology at the founder level, a stake in the outcome and long-term commitment. The difference is that you get a whole team from day one, not one person, and a planned way to transition to an in-house CTO later.
Why not just hire a CTO?
If you can find and afford the right person, that is a good option. Many early companies cannot, or need the product built before a senior hire makes sense. We cover that period and then help you hire the CTO.
How is the equity part calculated?
It depends on the company's stage and valuation, the length of the commitment, the size of the cash component and the scope of the CTO role. It vests over time and is fixed in a written agreement.
Will you talk to our investors?
Yes. We join calls where technology is discussed, prepare materials for technical due diligence and answer questions about the architecture, the team, costs and risks.
Can we reduce your role after a funding round?
Yes, and we plan for it. The agreement describes how responsibilities move to an in-house team, how long we stay for the transition and what happens to our equity.
What if we disagree on a technical decision?
Significant decisions are documented with options and trade-offs, and agreed with the founders. The agreement also defines how disputes are resolved, so a disagreement never blocks the company.
Tell us about your project
Describe the task in a few lines. Within one working day we reply with questions or a first view on scope and cost.
Prefer email or a call?
welcome@revolsource.com
+38 097 662 23 20
Revol Software OÜ, Tallinn, Estonia. Our team is distributed around the world.
Join our team
Send your CV to career@revolsource.com