Ivan Shmidt
STOCKHOLM  59.33°N

FRACTIONAL CTO · FOR NON-TECHNICAL FOUNDERS

Your product raised the round.
Can it carry the company?

I’m the technical partner founders call to find out - a look under the hood, a plain-language read on what’s really there, and steady judgment while you scale.

Book an intro callFREE 30 MINUTES · NO PREP NEEDED
Trusted by teams atSpotifyPayPalScaniaStorytelTrusted by teams atSpotifyPayPalScaniaStorytelTrusted by teams atSpotifyPayPalScaniaStorytel
01 - THE QUIET RISK

A product can look healthy on the outside while risk builds underneath.

Users are happy. Demos go well. Meanwhile invisible walls are forming - the kind you only discover when growth arrives.

WHAT EVERYONE SEES
WATERLINE
WHAT’S UNDERNEATH
SCALING PITFALLSSECURITY GAPSUNHIREABLE STACKRUNWAY DRAGTEAM CHAOS & BURNOUT

Nothing is wrong yet. Understand and fix it now - while it’s still cheap.

AI is an amplifier. Strong foundations get stronger. Weak ones lose the Series B.

02 - WHAT CHANGES

Every question that keeps you up becomes an answer on paper.

“Will it scale?”A scaling projection with numbers
“Is it compliant?”A clear map of the gaps - and a guide through accreditation
“Can we grow the team?”A codebase new engineers can actually work in
“What will it cost?”A roadmap with priorities and price tags

You stop guessing. You go back to building the company.

03 - HOW IT WORKS

Start small. Stay as long as it’s useful.

Borrowed expertise, not another hire. Everyone starts with the Diagnostic.

STEP 1 · ALWAYS
Diagnostic

Two weeks, fixed scope. A plain-language report: where your product will strain, what that costs, what to do first.

IF WE BUILD
Remediation

I bring a small, trusted team to fix what matters most - measurable improvements, not activity.

ONGOING
Advisory

A co-pilot on retainer: periodic reviews, roadmap check-ins, and judgment calls before big decisions.

AFTER THE DIAGNOSTIC - THREE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
All clear. Sometimes the report says you’re in good shape. We shake hands - no follow-through needed, and that’s fine.
Co-pilot. Your team does the building; I stay on retainer for reviews and the big calls.
Full service. My team and I fix what the report found, then stay on as advisors.
DIAGNOSTICHANDS-ON WORKCHECK-INS
04 - THE ADVISOR
Ivan Shmidt

Hej - I’m Ivan.

An independent technical consultant in Stockholm. Thirteen years of building (and rescuing) software, from day-one startups to teams at Spotify, PayPal, Scania and Storytel.

The moment a fast-built product meets real growth is the situation I know best - I’ve seen it from every side. I don’t sell code; I sell judgment. The best code is often the code you don’t write.

Wondering if your AI-bootstrapped product
will survive over time?

A half-hour conversation. No commitment.

Book an intro callOr say hello on LinkedIn