Stop renting your own business
Alex Ferreira | Fractional CTO, Ex Agency CTO
Alex Ferreira
Fractional CTO, Ex-Agency CTO
I help business owners take Ownership of their tech - so you can ship predictably, own your code, and avoid vendor lock-in.
Case Studies
November 25, 2025
From 2 Minutes to 10 Seconds: AI-Powered Document Processing and Security Governance
A technical analysis of AI integration in document processing systems, examining capacity economics and security governance implementation.
November 25, 2025
When Governance Collapses: A Platform Development Case Study
How the absence of dedicated technical leadership caused governance collapse during a critical platform build.
August 1, 2024
Delivering an IoT Platform in 30 Days: Fixed-Scope Methodology with Mid-Project AI Integration
An analysis of fixed-price scoping methodology in greenfield IoT platform development with mid-project scope expansion and third-party API integration constraints.
March 1, 2023
The $40,000 Mistake No One Noticed
How silent billing failures cost a SaaS platform $40K - and why ongoing technical oversight would have caught it in week one.
What is Ownership?
Ownership is control.
It's the difference between an expense and an asset.
The Renting Trap
Most businesses treat software like an expense. Here is what happens when you rent:
The Expense Trap
You pay monthly, and if you stop paying, the lights go out. You are building their business, not yours.
The Black Box
Vendors obscure operations. At first this is convenient, but when the process is a black box, they control the leverage, not you.
Fear of Change
Every feature, or even bug fixes, are a gamble. In the rental model, every change request risks breaking the black box.
Vendor Lock-in
You can't run your own software without a specific agency or person. They hold the keys to your business.
True Ownership
Ownership isn't a destination - it's a discipline. Without ongoing technical leadership, control erodes. To succeed, you must:
Own the Roadmap
You decide and understand at any given time what is being built, why, what 'done' is and how much it may cost.
I keep it that way.
Own the Code
If you want to swap vendors, everything you need is in your hands. A solo developer or agency does not hold the keys.
I make sure it stays portable.
Own the Team
Direct contracts binding them to you, not a middleman. You know who you're working with.
I help you build and retain them.
How I deliver Ownership.
The Blueprint
I work with your vision and constraints to create the Blueprint: A technical plan and implementation roadmap fully portable for another developer to take over.
You own the plan. You control the scope.
The Build
I execute the Blueprint using automation and proprietary AI engineered workflows to deliver in weeks, not months.
You get a functional product to validate your vision. All code and IP are yours from day 1.
Ongoing Oversight
I audit your code quality, security, and cloud costs on a recurring basis. You retain me as your Fractional CTO.
I ensure your business never stalls for lack of technical leadership - and I catch problems before they cost you.
Most clients stay for the oversight.
The Blueprint and Build get you to launch. Ongoing oversight is what keeps your tech an asset instead of a liability. I offer a minimum 3-month engagement so we have time to go through all the steps and do this right.