Dan Gerlanc
Fractional advisory · For AI teams

Fractional CTO / VP Engineering.

For AI teams that need senior technical leadership without a full-time exec.

You're about to hire engineers, ship infrastructure, and make architecture calls that will define the next 18 months. I've spent the last three years doing exactly that at AI-first companies.

  • Co-founded .txt as CTO. Raised $12M, scaled 3 → 17 engineers in a year.
  • Led engineering at Normal Computing. Released Outlines (13K+ GitHub stars).
  • Built Ampersand’s 8-engineer ML org. Shipped one of the largest Bayesian production systems in the world — 1.4T predictions/month.
  • Founded Enplus Advisors. ML engagements for Fortune 500 and growth-stage startups (4.8/5 across 9 Clutch reviews).
Book Discovery Session ($500) → Or email me first
Dan Gerlanc
Dan Gerlanc Fractional CTO / VP Engineering
Dan Gerlanc LLC
Past Consulting Clients
Microsoft MSC Arvato Bertelsmann Church & Dwight Tufts Medical Center Climate Central

4.8/5 average rating across 9 verified client reviews on Clutch.co

Most fractional CTOs are generalists. I’ve spent the last three years as an operator at AI-first companies — which means I’ve hired the engineers you’re about to hire, shipped the infrastructure you’re about to build, and made the tradeoff calls you’re about to face.

Engagement Options

A full-time CTO or VP Engineering is a $250,000–$400,000+ annual commitment before equity. These engagements give you experienced judgment at the moments where a bad decision costs far more than the retainer.

Tier 01

Executive Partnership

Fractional leadership, embedded in your team

Who it's for

Founders scaling an AI team; companies that need a senior technical leader actively in the trenches on hiring, architecture, and execution.

What's included
  • ~1 day per week of embedded capacity
  • Weekly leadership sync + ad-hoc availability
  • Participation in leadership meetings, hiring loops, architecture reviews
  • Slack/email with 24-hour response (usually same day)
Outcomes
  • You stop being the bottleneck on hiring, architecture, and the five decisions a week that only you can answer
  • The infrastructure you build this quarter is still what you're running in 18 months — not a migration project you're apologizing for
$10,000/mo
Book Discovery Session ($500) →
Tier 02

Strategic Advisor

Senior decision support for teams in build mode

Who it's for

Founders and technical leaders making recurring high-stakes architecture, hiring, and org decisions, who want a seasoned outside perspective on tap.

What's included
  • ~10 hours per month of advisory capacity
  • Slack & email access between sessions
  • Architecture, hiring, and roadmap reviews
  • Priority async for time-sensitive calls
Outcomes
  • A 48-hour read on the calls that would otherwise cost you a month of internal debate
  • A shortcut through the hiring, architecture, and org problems I've already worked through at three AI-first companies — instead of rediscovering them on your own clock
$4,000/mo
Book Discovery Session ($500) →

If you're deciding between the two: choose Executive Partnership when you need ongoing leadership leverage across many decisions; choose Strategic Advisor when you need experienced judgment on a few consequential ones.

Not ready to book? Email me first — I'll tell you honestly whether this is the right fit.

The Discovery Session: what you get for $500

One focused hour on the decisions in front of you right now.

You leave with:

  • A read on which decisions carry real risk — and which are safe to defer
  • Specific recommendations on sequencing and approach
  • A proposed engagement — Executive Partnership, Strategic Advisor, or something else — if we’re a fit
  • An honest “this isn’t for you” and a referral, if we’re not

This isn't for you if…

  • Companies that already clearly need a full-time CTO or VP Engineering
  • Teams looking for staff augmentation or hands-on implementation work
  • Organizations wanting broad innovation consulting without a concrete product, team, or execution problem to solve

Also on the record

  • Teaching. Thousands of students via O’Reilly Media (top instructor ratings across 104 reviews).
  • Publications. Technical writing on Bayesian ML at scale (AWS HPC Blog) and peer-reviewed work on bootstrap confidence intervals for effect sizes.
  • Open source. Led the team that released Outlines at Normal Computing (13K+ stars); authored bootES (R) and developer tooling used by thousands.
  • Speaking. ODSC, PGConf NYC, Predictive Analytics World, Talk Python To Me, and MLOps Community.

What Clients Say

“
None of the founders are engineers. We needed an external resource for technology leadership, strategy, and design. Dan makes sure we’ve got the right architecture in place so we can build to the right marketplace. He gets that startup development is very different from enterprise development — he understands the particular challenges that startups face.
Erich Hoefer Co-Founder, Starling
“
Dan has worked on several high profile projects with me. I’ve found him to be a major asset to the team - extremely detail oriented and excellent at documenting his process, analyses, and business-centric takeaways…He’s very easy to work with, patient in explaining anything and everything to others, and an effective communicator…
Ketan Vakil Founder, KMV Digital

How It Works

01

Paid Discovery Session ($500)

A 60-minute working session to understand your situation, pressure-test the problem, and determine whether ongoing work makes sense. You'll leave with actionable recommendations whether or not we continue. The fee is credited toward your first month if we move forward.

02

Engagement Kickoff

If there's a fit, we'll formalize the engagement, define the focus areas, and set a regular cadence.

03

Ongoing Partnership

We work through the decisions that matter most: team structure, hiring, architecture, process, and execution.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are you different from other fractional CTOs?

Most fractional CTOs are generalists. My last three operating roles were hands-on leadership at AI-first companies: .txt (structured LLM generation), Normal Computing (deep-tech AI), and Ampersand (ML at scale). I’ve hired the people you’ll need to hire, shipped the infrastructure you’ll need to build, and made the tradeoff calls you’re about to face.

What if we're not sure which offering is right?

The Discovery Session helps us explore your challenges together and determine the best fit — whether that’s Executive Partnership, Strategic Advisor, or another option. You’ll leave with actionable recommendations regardless of next steps.

Why is Executive Partnership priced meaningfully higher?

Because it is a different level of engagement. Executive Partnership is embedded fractional leadership — roughly one day a week of my time in your team, joining leadership meetings, hiring loops, and architecture reviews. Strategic Advisor is an advisory engagement on recurring decisions, not embedded time. If you need ongoing leadership leverage and capacity, it’s Executive Partnership; if you need experienced judgment on the decisions that matter most, it’s Strategic Advisor.

What if the engagement isn't working?

Both engagements are month-to-month and either side can end them for any reason.

Can you help us hire?

I don’t act as a recruiter, but I can help you define roles, design the hiring process, train interviewers, and evaluate candidates.

Will you write code for us?

Executive Partnership can include code review and select high-leverage coding — prototypes, thorny architectural spikes, or a critical path that unblocks the team. Strategic Advisor can include higher-level code review but no hands-on coding. Neither engagement is staff augmentation.

Can we adjust the engagement level over time?

Yes. Many clients start with Executive Partnership and transition to Strategic Advisor as their team matures, or vice versa based on changing needs.

Do you sign NDAs?

Yes, absolutely. All advisory engagements include standard confidentiality agreements.

How do we engage you?

Email me or sign up for a Discovery Session. All consulting services are provided through Dan Gerlanc LLC.

You'll leave the Discovery Session with actionable recommendations. The $500 fee is credited toward your first month if we continue.

Book Discovery Session →

Typically booked within the week.