CTO Decision Review

Overview & who it's for

CTO Decision Review gives founders and executives a clear, independent recommendation on one specific technical decision before they commit to it. It is a one-off review, not a subscription: one question, one written brief, one walkthrough.

It is designed primarily for founders and CEOs of B2B SaaS and software companies facing a concrete technical decision, for example whether to accept a development proposal or estimate, which migration scenario to pursue, or whether a proposed rewrite is justified. These are examples of the questions it fits, not a description of your situation.

This service is available to professional and business customers only.

One decision, agreed in advance

The review covers one clearly identified decision, the questions agreed for it and the documents agreed for it. All three are confirmed in writing before the work starts.

What you receive

A concise written decision brief, covering:

• The relevant facts established from the agreed documents
• Unknowns, and the assumptions made about them
• The options and their trade-offs
• A recommendation
• The checks that remain before you commit

Walkthrough

The brief is presented in a walkthrough session with the decision-maker, to go through the findings and answer questions about them. The walkthrough is part of the four hours, not in addition to them.

Capacity: up to 4 hours in total

The review includes up to 4 hours of work in total, for the whole engagement. It is not a monthly allowance.

• The 4 hours cover preparation, review of the agreed documents, analysis, writing the brief and the walkthrough.
• There is no recurring capacity, no advisory access after delivery and nothing to roll over.
• Delivery timing is agreed after the fit and scope review. No turnaround is guaranteed unless it is agreed in writing.

If the question needs more than 4 hours

If it becomes clear that the agreed question cannot be answered properly within the 4 hours, TRENDev tells you before going beyond them. We then either narrow the question so that it fits, or propose a separate scope and quote for you to accept or decline. Work beyond the limit is never carried out or billed without your prior written agreement.

Recommended first step: a free introductory call

A free 20-minute introductory call is recommended before purchase. It confirms fit, agrees the question and checks that the review fits the four-hour scope. You can also purchase directly: the question and the documents are then agreed in writing before any work starts.

• No preparation and no documents are needed for the call.
• The call carries no obligation to buy.
• The call is separate from the paid four hours. It is not a free audit and produces no assessment or deliverable.
• If you purchase without a call and TRENDev declines the question as unsuitable for a review before any work starts, the fee is refunded in full.

Agreed inputs

The review works from the documents agreed during scoping, for example a vendor proposal, a development estimate, an architecture document or a migration plan. You provide them, with the context needed to read them, in a timely manner.

Please do not send credentials, access tokens, secrets or production personal data.

Responsibilities & what's not included

TRENDev advises; you keep the decision and its execution. Any follow-on delivery is optional, its commercial interest is disclosed, and it is scoped and priced separately.

• Comprehensive audit or technical due diligence
• Exhaustive code or security review
• Implementation or hands-on delivery
• Ongoing advisory access
• Operational ownership of systems, teams or delivery
• Additional decisions beyond the agreed one
• Open-ended investigation

Price & billing

Price: €1,500, one-time, excluding applicable taxes.

• One payment, made before the review starts. There is no subscription, no renewal and no automatic conversion into CTO Advisor or any other plan.
• Public prices are stated excluding applicable taxes. The applicable VAT or tax treatment is determined at checkout and on invoices, based on your business's country of establishment and tax status.
• Professional and business customers only: this service is not offered to consumers.

Rescheduling & cancellation

• Either party may reschedule the walkthrough with at least one business day's notice.
• The fee is not refunded once paid, except as set out below.
• If TRENDev cannot deliver at the agreed time, it reschedules at no extra charge. If it has not delivered within 90 days of receiving the agreed documents, for a reason attributable to TRENDev, you may end the engagement and the fee is refunded in full.
• If the agreed documents are not provided within 90 days of payment, despite a reminder, the engagement lapses and the fee is not refunded.

Broader work

Recurring advice is the scope of CTO Advisor and CTO Advisor+, technology leadership that of Fractional CTO, and a broad assessment, due diligence or implementation is scoped separately. You can start with any of them directly: the Decision Review is not a mandatory first step.