Technical Leadership for Growing Startups

I’m Thomas Wilsher, and I help scaleups navigate technical challenges, AI-enable their organizations, and build for sustainable growth.

Services Offered

Technical due diligence and architecture review
Experienced in due diligence (including for multiple acquisitions at Twilio), I help companies prepare for fundraising or M&A by identifying technical risks and opportunities before investors do.

Fractional/Interim CTO leadership
I can step in as your technical leader during critical growth phases, fundraising, or leadership transitions. I provide hands-on leadership while helping you find and onboard a permanent CTO when the time is right.

AI strategy and implementation roadmaps
I help organizations develop AI adoption strategies that create real competitive advantage. From identifying high-impact use cases to building AI-enabled products and internal tools that scale your operations.

Team scaling and process improvement
I help growing teams adopt the practices and processes that work at scale. From code review practices to deployment pipelines to AI-augmented development workflows, I focus on the fundamentals that enable sustainable growth.

Hiring and organizational design
I build high-performing engineering teams that scale with your business. From technical recruiting strategies to organizational structure design, I can help you attract and retain top talent while creating the culture and processes that enable sustainable growth.

Fundraising and M&A preparation
I provide technical preparation for fundraising rounds and acquisition processes. I help you address potential concerns before they become roadblocks, ensuring your technical organization positions you for successful outcomes.

Engagement Types

• 1-3 month assessments - Quick technical and organizational evaluation
• 6-24 month interim roles - Hands-on leadership during transitions
• Ongoing fractional CTO - Part-time strategic and tactical support

My Philosophy

People First: Technical problems are usually people problems in disguise. I focus on building environments where teams can do their best work through collaborative problem-solving and open communication.

Pragmatic Solutions: Having seen both massive successes and expensive failures, I help you avoid the “shiny object syndrome” and focus on what actually moves the needle for your business.

AI as a Force Multiplier: The companies that thrive in the next decade won’t be the ones with the best AI, but the ones that best integrate AI into their operations and products.

Experience

With 20+ years in Silicon Valley and 10+ years at Twilio where I built and scaled Messaging and IoT platforms, I bring proven experience in scaling technology organizations from startup to IPO and beyond.

Twilio (10+ years)

• Head of Engineering for Messaging (Twilio’s flagship product) - grew from single team to 7-team organization across 3 countries
• Led Messaging platform through exponential growth while maintaining 5-nines uptime
• Head of Engineering for IoT - grew from small team to 50+ engineers across US, Germany, and UK
• M&A due diligence and integration experience across 4+ successful acquisitions

Silicon Valley Background

• 20+ years across multiple startups and scaleups
• Deep experience with technical scaling challenges
• Understanding of what works (and what doesn’t) at different growth stages

Contact me to discuss how I can help your company scale.