MetaCTO

Mobile app design and development that helps business owners create new revenue streams, increase customer lifetime value, and improve profit margins.

Partner

olive

Head of Engineering

Round

Round is a curated community of technology executives and senior leaders who support, grow, mentor, and learn from each other. The Round experience supports leaders who are at the forefront of technology, working on products and services that have an outsized impact on the world.

Founding Member

Power Digital Marketing

Team and product leadership for the Nova platform at Power Digital Marketing. The machine learning platform that can analyze any business’s growth opportunities, build a marketing strategy to execute on them, and track progress across 13+ channels in custom-tailored dashboards.

VP Engineering & Product

KlientBoost

Founded, launched and sold a marketing tech SaaS product.

- Grew team of 6 engineers plus product design and support staff
- Managed feature roadmap, technical architecture, development, delivery, and support
- Produced 50% trial-to-paid customer conversions
- Created education path for junior engineers
- Managed agile process of reviews, retros, standup, backlog

The flagship product for Kite Software integrated with Google Ads API to analyze accounts with custom algorithms and generate ROI focused recommendations. Scaled to process millions of records at a time with AWS serverless and queue services. Built with TypeScript, Node.js, Express, Python, Serverless, React, Redux, CircleCI, Docker, Gatsby, GraphQL.

VP Engineering, Kite Software

Maverick

Lead server side API development and web application team to support iOS startup venture creating a new social community for empowering young women. genmaverick.com

Develop microservices with NodeJS and MongoDB.  React and redux front end development.  Machine learning for moderation and transcriptions.  Rapid feature development including comments service, trending algorithms, and gamification progression engine.  Support PHP Zend MySQL API framework.  Mentor and train team members.  Manage technical contractors and support the agile development process.

Software Engineering Manager

JNR Incorporated

- Designed and developed a Node.js and MongoDB microservice-based API with a custom Express Gateway on an AWS Lambda-hosted serverless environment (api.paymentrise.com).
- Built a React and Redux front-end web application for customers to redeem prepaid reward cards with unique offer codes for BoostMobile clients.
- Led the technical team for new product development, defined software engineering processes, and implemented Agile Scrum methodologies.
- Created a custom Python script for serverless S3 deployment integrated with GitLab CI/CD.
- Introduced Git, Continuous Integration (CI), and Agile project methodologies to the team.
- Led the migration of a data center to an AWS cloud-hosted environment.
- Developed and supported large-scale Prepaid Card Industry applications for incentive programs, card activation, and card ordering.
- Built a REST API to securely interface new applications with legacy cardholder data systems, ensuring PCI DSS compliance at all levels.

Senior Software Architect, Lead

Blink Development, Inc.

Founded Blink Development with one partner and grew to a peak staff over 10 employees servicing website development and marketing.  Launched and serviced over 40 projects in 5 years, generating over $1.5M annual gross revenue.  Served as lead developer on all major projects.

Founder & Lead Developer

Fletcher Jones Motorcars

Started as a PC installation technician in 1999.  Advanced through many positions over 11 years with responsibilities including database administration, web development, help desk, project management, vendor management, and ultimately data warehousing and BI analysis with C#, .NET MVC, SharePoint, MSSQL Server, and SSRS.

Business Information Analyst, Developer, System Admin

At MetaCTO, we build custom mobile apps that help businesses grow new revenue streams, create online communities, increasing customer LTV with digital products, and make client communication more personal.

Christopher Fitkin

What is tech debt?

Can you avoid it? Are you already doomed?

Imagine you bought a new car.

At first it runs great! Then the tires wear down. The oil needs changing. Maybe the battery starts acting up. This doesn’t mean the car is “broken”… it’s just normal wear & tire. But requires maintenance.

Tech debt is the same thing.

As products move faster, change direction, accumulate features… the system naturally degrades. Every shortcut, workaround, or rushed decision adds wear & tear (especially when speed is involved).

I’ve worked with with massive corporations and early-stage start-ups… and they ALL struggle with tech debt.

The mistake is treating it like a giant rewrite or a special cleanup project.

The real solution is boring & continuous.

Every feature should leave the codebase slightly better than you found it. Small refactors. Clear abstractions. Feature flags. Cleanup along the way, done as part of normal work, not during a crisis.

So no, you’re not doomed. 

You just need to make sure your team is doing the boring things right.

Yes: AI can do 50% of the work

No: Businesses don’t have to give you 50% off

I had someone reach out recently and say: “You quoted this last year… but with AI writing code now, can you do it for half the price?”

Sorry, no!

Writing code has never been the rate-limiting factor. That’s maybe 20% of the work.

The real cost is planning, scoping, design, picking the right features, architecture, testing, validation, launching, and supporting the thing once it’s live. AI doesn’t magically solve decision-making.

I also see a lot of “it’s 90% done” projects built in Replit or with vibe-coding tools.

But in reality, 4 days of AI coding can easily create 4 months of technical debt. Security issues, bad abstractions, brittle logic - all the stuff that only shows up later, when it’s expensive.

We use AI across our entire stack at MetaCTO. It’s a huge multiplier.

But it multiplies experience, it does not not replace it.

7 mistakes to avoid if you’re building an app in 2026:

1. Starting with features instead of a real problem
2. Overbuilding/overthinking v1
3. Assuming users will “figure it out” without onboarding
4. Ignoring performance until users complain
5. Not prioritizing/optimizing your monetization strategy
6. Shipping without a rollback plan
7. Treating security as an afterthought

What you should be focusing on (from someone who's built hundreds of successful apps):

A. Clarity

Be painfully clear about who the app is for, what problem it solves, and what success actually looks like. 100% of failed apps aren’t 100% sure what their users actually want/need.

B. Reversibility

Real speed comes from being able to undo mistakes quickly. Feature flags, small rollouts, boring architecture, and clear rollback paths let you move faster, safely.

C. Retention & revenue - early

If users don’t come back or won’t pay, nothing else matters. Not your tech stack. Not your cool AI features. Not how “clean” the codebase is. Value > vibes.

If you want your app to be successful in 2026… make fewer bad decisions, earlier.

For anyone hiring a software dev team:

You can have 2 of these 3: good, fast, cheap

If you want good & fast, it ain't gonna be cheap.
If you want cheap & fast, it ain't gonna be good.
If you want cheap & good, it ain't gonna be fast (probably not good either).

2022: Runna rejected by App Store. 2026: 
Runna growing ~30× YoY & raised £8M+.

(The difference was 1 week with RevenueCat)

@Runna was started by @Ben Parker and Dom Einhorn Maskell, two runners who wanted to make personalized coaching accessible. They brought in Walter Holohan (now their CTO) to build their MVP .

Early on, things were going great from their website… so naturally, their next step was a mobile app.

But then Runna ran into a wall.

The 1st version of the app linked out to web payments (so Apple rejected it immediately). And anyone who’s shipped a subscription app knows how deflating that moment can be… weeks/months of hard work blocked by a simple compliance detail.

Instead of trying to hack together their own in-app purchase system, Walter signed up with RevenueCat.

1 week later (after adding in-app purchases), they were approved on the App Store!

With subscriptions handled… the team focused on training plans, personalization, performance, integrations.

30× YoY subscription growth
£8M+ raised
Scaled from 2 to 16 engineers

Runna is one of the best examples I’ve seen of how important it is to get the infrastructure right early.

This is why we’re so excited to partner with RevenueCat:

a) You launch (& get approved) faster… without weeks of trial-and-error

b) Your team focuses on product, not billing edge cases - no DIY paywalls, receipt validation, or renewal headaches

c) Your monetization scales with you

If you’re building a subscription app and want to get the foundation right the first time, shoot me a DM!

Happy to talk through your idea.

In 2026, can we all agree…

Let’s break less things.

“Move fast and break things.”

Okay, but moving fast doesn’t mean being reckless. It just means knowing what kind of decision you’re making before you ship.

Before I push anything customer-facing or revenue-adjacent, I run it through 3 quick questions.

- 1st: what happens if I’m wrong?

A minor UI glitch is annoying. Breaking data, payments, or trust is not. High-impact mistakes deserve more time. Low-impact ones? Fix forward.

- 2nd: can I reverse this easily?

If there’s a kill switch, feature flag, or a 10-minute rollback, I bias toward action. If reversal means days of cleanup or downtime, I slow way down and rehearse the failure.

- 3rd: how big is the blast radius?

Can I ship to a small group? Hide it behind a flag? Scope it so not everyone feels it at once? Small blast radius = safe experimentation.

Speed and safety don’t have to be enemies.

How bout it?

Collaborated with Meta on the development of a Creative Affinity tool, supported by a $400,000 investment from Meta, to merge first-party data with ad creative analysis. Driving profitable growth by allowing marketers to quickly identify what creative(s) are successful.

Directed the development of multiple internal data analytics tools that helped clients reduce Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC), driving over $10M in additional annual revenue.

Spearheaded the leadership and mentorship of multiple cross-functional teams, including software engineers, QA engineers, UI designers, and data scientists, fostering collaboration and innovation to deliver high-impact software solutions. Focused on skill development and team cohesion, resulting in improved efficiency, enhanced product quality, and successful alignment with business objectives.

LuLaRoe

Oversaw end-to-end software engineering operations and third-party platform integrations for a billion-dollar apparel company.

Modernized a direct selling eCommerce platform, introducing integrations across iOS, Android, and web, driving $1B in annual wholesale revenue.

Successfully launched a B2B and B2C cloud platform leveraging AWS and Azure, resulting in $2B annual revenue growth.

Built and mentored a high-performance engineering team, that built and supported solutions allowing the revenue growth from $1M/month to over $100M/month within the first 12 months.

Collaborated with executive leadership to align technology strategies with corporate growth objectives.

Manager of Software Development

PhD Labs

Lead and manage in-house and offshore development teams to ensure the successful delivery of custom mobile applications that meet client needs and expectations.

Serve as the primary liaison between clients and development teams, facilitating clear communication, gathering requirements, and ensuring alignment throughout the project lifecycle.

Oversee the day-to-day operations of the in-house team, including scheduling, time tracking, billing, and invoicing, to maintain efficiency and project profitability.

Engage with new clients to understand their mobile application needs, provide expert recommendations, and prepare detailed Statements of Work (SOWs) to define project scope and objectives.

Senior Project Manager

PneuDraulics, Inc

Served as the sole software engineer, responsible for managing and maintaining IIS and SQL servers to ensure the stability and performance of web applications.

Self-taught ASP.Net to develop and enhance web pages and applications for both Internet and intranet sites, alongside classic ASP solutions.

Designed, built, and maintained custom web applications, ensuring seamless functionality and integration with existing systems.

Acted as the technical lead for multiple third-party web applications, including SyberWorks Training Center, overseeing implementation, troubleshooting, and ongoing support.

Web Administrator

SunGard Higher Education Managed Services, Inc.

Lead and manage a team of web developers to support the custom development needs of college CTOs, ensuring high-quality solutions tailored to institutional requirements.

Maintain ongoing communication with client executives and staff to understand their technical challenges and provide strategic guidance on web services integration.

Evaluate proposed technology projects, assess their feasibility within existing systems, and recommend effective solutions to enhance operational efficiency.

Provide expertise and consultation to committees, user groups, and special seminars, contributing to the strategic direction of technology initiatives.

Actively participate in the development of custom web applications using ASP and SQL Server to meet the evolving needs of college clients.

Web Center Manager

Claremont McKenna College

Served as the sole software engineer responsible for the college’s websites, web server, and database server, ensuring seamless operation, security, and performance.

Established programmatic standards for the college’s websites and collaborated with the systems manager to develop and maintain web infrastructure.

Designed and implemented web interfaces for administrative information systems, working closely with the administrative computing group to enhance accessibility and efficiency.

Developed custom web applications, functions, and system integrations using ASP to meet the needs of various departments and offices.

Managed and maintained over 60 websites hosted on IIS 5/6, ensuring uptime, security, and optimal performance.

Acted as the database administrator for enterprise MS SQL Servers, handling database creation, maintenance, stored procedures, and job automation using DTS packages.

Served as the technical lead for several third-party software solutions, including a web-based calendar system and a room scheduling system, ensuring smooth integration and operation.

Web Engineer

Engineering Leader | Strategic IT Planner | AI Enthusiast

Experienced Engineering Manager with over 24 years of expertise in IT and enterprise software solutions. Proven track record in strategic planning, cross-functional team leadership, and driving successful software integrations. Skilled communicator and results-oriented leader with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems.

I began my career as a software developer, building web applications using Classic ASP, PHP, and ASP.NET. Transitioning into project management, I led teams of local and offshore developers using Agile/Scrum methodologies to deliver custom web applications for diverse clients across industries.

For the past ten years, I’ve overseen multiple internal and offshore teams, including software engineers, QA engineers, and data scientists. I’ve been responsible for managing resources, processes, and projects essential for the delivery and maintenance of mission-critical software systems and web applications. My role has included strategic planning, implementation of new software solutions, and aligning technology initiatives with overarching business goals.

Committed to continuous growth, I actively stay informed about emerging technologies and leadership best practices. I frequently attend technology and leadership conferences to ensure I bring innovation and effective leadership strategies to every project and team I manage.

Let’s connect to discuss technology leadership, strategic planning, and driving impactful results in software engineering.

taplio

The Battle

Christopher Fitkin

Todd Goulding

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Todd Goulding

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Christopher Fitkin's LinkedIn Performance

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