Andreas Scharf
Fractional CTO for Startups & Scaleups
I help DACH startups and scaleups make the right technology decisions, build scalable platforms, and ship faster. 15+ years. 8 companies. From architecture to AI.
Fractional CTO for Startups & Scaleups
I help DACH startups and scaleups make the right technology decisions, build scalable platforms, and ship faster. 15+ years. 8 companies. From architecture to AI.
I make the decisions a full-time CTO would — stack selection, team structure, vendor evaluation, engineering culture — saving you from costly architecture mistakes, on a flexible retainer basis.
System design and technology decisions that scale. I plan your architecture so you don't have to rewrite it in 18 months — from microservices to event-driven systems.
LLM integration, AI agent orchestration, workflow automation (n8n), and RAG architectures. I turn AI from a buzzword into shipped features with measurable ROI.
Hands-on implementation when you need it — Node.js, TypeScript, Python, Go, Vue, React. Cloud-native on AWS, GCP, and Azure with CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code.
Independent technical assessments for investors, acquirers, and boards. I review code quality, architecture, scalability, and team capabilities — delivering clear, actionable reports.
From hiring your first engineer to structuring a 20-person team. I've mentored 9 engineers from developer to management level and establish practices that stick.
From first call to ongoing impact — a clear, low-risk process
30-minute call to understand your challenges, stack, team, and goals. No pitch — just listening.
A focused 1-2 week deep dive into your codebase, architecture, and team. Delivered as an actionable report.
I join your team on a flexible retainer — attending standups, making decisions, shipping code when needed.
As your team grows, I help hire your full-time CTO and ensure a smooth handover. The goal is to make myself unnecessary.
Companies I've helped with my expertise
AI-powered energy management software
Led development of AI-powered energy management system
Platform for digital construction sites
Architected platform for digital construction site management
Smart city digitalization platform for utilities and municipalities
Fractional CTO · Platform architecture & development
AI-powered recruiting SaaS
CTO · Built automated recruiting platform from 0→1, driving 10x sourcing throughput
World's first unified data science platform
Head of Engineering · Led 15-person team building world's first unified data science platform
Most scalable real-time audio streaming platform (patented)
CTO · Built patented real-time audio streaming architecture serving enterprise clients
RCS/SMS marketing messaging platform
Architected messaging platform enabling RCS/SMS marketing at scale
AI-powered sales/lead-gen platform
Designed AI-powered multi-agent system for consulting sales intelligence
Beyond consulting — products and companies I'm building
int32 solutions GmbH
talentmonkeys GmbH
Erium GmbH
LINEAPP GmbH
Atos GmbH
addIT GmbH
From energy giants to early-stage startups — companies I've helped build and scale
A fractional CTO provides part-time, senior technology leadership to companies that need strategic technical guidance without hiring a full-time executive. This includes architecture decisions, technology strategy, team building, vendor evaluation, and engineering culture — typically 2-4 days per week.
A consultant advises. A fractional CTO leads. I embed with your team, attend standups, make architecture decisions, hire engineers, and take ownership of technical outcomes — just like a full-time CTO, but on a flexible basis.
Most engagements run 6-12 months, but I've worked with companies for over 3 years. We start with a 4-week assessment phase and then move to an ongoing retainer. Either side can end the engagement with 30 days notice.
My primary focus is the DACH region (Austria, Germany, Switzerland), but I work 100% remotely and have supported companies across Europe. If the timezone overlap is reasonable, we can make it work.
I've worked across energy, HR tech, construction, audio streaming, marketing tech, sales intelligence, and data science. My strength is applying deep technical and AI expertise to any domain, not being locked into one vertical.
Week one is about listening. I review your codebase, talk to your engineers, understand your product roadmap, and map out technical debt. By the end of the first week, you get a clear assessment document with prioritized recommendations — no fluff, just actionable next steps.
Whether you need a fractional CTO, a technical co-founder substitute, a scalability assessment, or help building your engineering team — let's find out if we're a good fit.
I respond to every message personally — usually within 24 hours.
Vienna, Austria — 100% remote-friendly