Writing & Newsletter
Weekly essays on sustainable technical leadership. What I've learned, what I got wrong, and why I disagree with the conventional wisdom.
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You didn't become a CTO
to burn out.
I help tech leaders ship quality work without sacrificing their health, their relationships, or their sanity.
Currently CTO at Amba. Fractional CTO services launching January 2026.
Here's what happened
I built a successful company and nearly destroyed myself doing it.
In 2011, I co-founded CookiesHQ — a Ruby on Rails consultancy. We grew from two people to twenty, hit seven-figure revenue, and got acquired in 2021.
On paper, it was everything I wanted.
In reality, I was exhausted and running on fumes. I'd optimised for success but forgotten to optimise for life.
11
Years building CookiesHQ
From spare room to acquisition
20
People at peak
£1M+ annual revenue
20+
Years in web development
Still writing code daily
The rebuild
The acquisition gave me space to change everything.
I simplified my systems and found a pace I could actually sustain. Now I help other technical leaders do the same.
From
- Reactive firefighting
- Heroic all-nighters
- Complex tool sprawl
- Meeting overload
- Optimising one variable
To
- Proactive systems
- Sustainable pace
- Boring technology that works
- Async by default
- Optimising for life
What I've learned
Six things I believe after 20 years.
The best CTOs aren't the busiest.
They're the ones who've designed systems, teams, and lives that don't require heroics.
Boring technology wins.
Rails has been declared dead for 15 years. It still ships faster than most alternatives.
Complexity is a choice.
Most teams don't have scaling problems. They have simplicity problems.
Meetings are debt.
Every recurring meeting is a tax on your team's ability to think deeply.
AI changes the game, not the fundamentals.
The skill is context engineering — treating AI like a junior dev who needs proper onboarding.
Burnout is a systems problem.
If your company needs heroes to function, your systems are broken.
How I can help
Ways to work together.
Jan 2026
Fractional CTO
Senior technical leadership for 1-2 days per week. Strategy, team structure, delivery systems. You pay for results, not my calendar.
Join the waitlist →Advisory
Lighter-touch support for founders. Monthly calls, async access, and a second opinion when you need one.
Let's talk →It's not about working less — it's about working better. Choosing boring technology that actually ships. Building teams that don't need heroes.
Companies I've worked with over 20 years
Latest thinking
Recent writing
AI
Jan 17, 2026
If You Can't Explain the Code, AI Is Not Helping You
AI made code output cheap. 'I shipped a lot' means less now. Value moved from writing code to owning outcomes—deciding what matters, explaining trade-offs, taking responsibility.
Personal
Jan 7, 2025
2025's Word is Intention
Tired of setting New Year's goals that fail by February? Discover how focusing on intention and experimentation helped me transform my health and happiness in 2024.
Let's talk.
Whether you need a fractional CTO, advisory support, or just want to follow along with the writing.
Based in Bristol, UK. Working with teams worldwide.