The prototype got you 70% there
AI tools, no-code platforms, or a fast freelancer helped you prove the shape of the idea, but the product is not ready for real customers.
Forward-deployed CTO
The no bullsh*t CTO for founders who need software shipped, rescued, or made real.
I'm Mike Rispoli. I help nontechnical founders turn messy ideas, stalled builds, and AI-generated prototypes into production-grade software with product, design, and engineering leadership in one seat.
My work sits between fractional CTO, CPTO, and forward-deployed engineer: I translate founder vision into product direction, technical architecture, and the shipping discipline required to cross the final mile into reality.
When Founders Call Me
The handoff is messy
The agency, contractor, or internal team left behind unclear architecture, brittle code, missing context, or a roadmap nobody fully trusts.
The questions are getting expensive
Investors, customers, or your own team are asking technical questions that need clear product, architecture, and delivery judgment.
How I Engage
Product Rescue Audit
A direct diagnosis of what is stuck, what is worth saving, and whether the right move is repair, rebuild, or a sharper product cut.
Forward-Deployed CTO Retainer
Weekly CTO leadership across product direction, architecture, vendor decisions, team cadence, and the work required to get software shipped.
Ship Room Sprint
A focused 2-6 week push to turn a stuck build, AI prototype, or urgent product bet into something demoable, fundable, sellable, or production-ready.
CTO Confidential
I host Strictly from Nowhere and my segment, CTO Confidential, where I talk through leadership, product, engineering, founder reality, delivery pressure, and the parts of building software people usually sanitize.
Latest Writing
All postsJune 10, 2026
The Rise of Mediocrity and the Death of the Real Turd
AI did not make everything worse. It made bad harder to see.
June 9, 2026
The magic in the meeting
AI can make execution cheap, but the real product judgment still happens when the right people stay with the problem together.
June 8, 2026
Cast the Ring Into the Fire: Why Founders Must Resist the Temptation to Add One More Feature
Early products need one powerful story. Every extra persona, workflow, and feature can weaken the focus that makes the first users care.
Selected Writing Elsewhere
Get In Touch
Stuck software is usually messier than a polished intake form. Send the context: what exists, what is broken, what is at stake, and what needs to be true next.