Technology Consulting · Fractional CTO · AI

Tech decisions are setting your costs for the next five years. Who’s making them?

Better software, faster delivery, and AI that actually pays off, with a senior technology partner on your side.

I help founders, business owners, and leadership teams get stalled projects shipping, make confident technology calls, and put AI to work where it earns its keep, as a consultant, a hands-on builder, or your fractional CTO.

Book a free 30-min call See how I help
  • Reply within one business day
  • You’ll talk to me, not a sales team
  • Honest advice, even if it’s “you don’t need me”

What changes when we work together

  • Faster delivery from a roadmap everyone believes in
  • Lower risk across your code, vendors, and security
  • Measurable ROI from AI and automation
  • Senior leadership without a full-time executive hire

Sound familiar?

Which of these is costing you right now?

Projects that never land

Deadlines slip, budgets grow, and nobody can give you a straight answer about when it will actually ship.

The cost of waitingEvery month a project slips is another month of payroll with nothing shipped.

This is us

No one owns the big picture

Vendors, freelancers, and tools pile up with no strategy tying them together and no one accountable for the result.

The cost of waitingOverlapping tools and contracts keep adding cost, and no one is positioned to notice, let alone cut them.

This is us

AI pressure, no plan

Everyone says “add AI.” Nobody can tell you where it pays off, what it costs, or how to do it safely.

The cost of waitingWhile you wait, competitors are automating work you still pay people to do by hand.

This is us

Calls you can’t evaluate

Hiring, vendor proposals, investor questions: high-stakes technical decisions with no trusted expert to check them.

The cost of waitingOne wrong hire or vendor contract can burn a year of budget before anyone notices.

This is us

Why it matters: bad technology decisions don’t fail loudly. They compound quietly: a rushed architecture, the wrong vendor, a shortcut nobody wrote down. Each one adds cost and drag to everything built on top of it, and by the time it shows up on the P&L, it’s expensive to undo.

The fix: an experienced technology partner on your side of the table. Not an agency selling hours, but someone accountable for your outcomes, for as much or as little as you need.

Recognize your business here? Let’s fix it before it compounds.

In 30 minutes we’ll pinpoint what’s costing you the most and the fastest way to fix it. No pitch, no obligation.

Show me what to fix first

How I help

Clarify. Build. Lead.

Three ways to work together, each tied to a result. Start wherever you are today.

  1. 01Clarify
  2. 02Build
  3. 03Lead
01

Clarify

Know what to build, what it will cost, and what to skip.

A clear plan, honest estimates, and an independent expert view before you commit budget, including where AI will actually pay off.

Fixes Calls you can’t evaluate · AI pressure, no plan

02

Build

Launch software that moves the business.

Hands-on delivery from a senior engineer: new products, AI and automation, or rescuing a project that stalled.

Fixes Projects that never land

03

Lead

Executive-level technology leadership, without the full-time cost.

A fractional CTO who owns technical strategy, vendors, hiring, and delivery, and speaks for technology with investors and your board.

Fixes No one owns the big picture

Know what to build, what it will cost, and what to skip.

A clear plan, honest estimates, and an independent expert view before you commit budget, including where AI will actually pay off.

Technology Strategy & Roadmap

A plan your whole team can rally behind: priorities, technology choices, budget, and timeline, all in plain English.

  • Discovery sessions with leadership and key staff
  • Scope and feature prioritization
  • Architecture and technology recommendations
  • Build vs. buy vs. off-the-shelf analysis
  • Phased budget and timeline estimates

AI Opportunity Assessment

Know exactly where AI will save time or grow revenue, ranked by value, cost, and risk, with a pilot plan for the best bet.

  • Workflow and data review
  • Use-case identification and ROI estimates
  • Model and vendor selection guidance
  • Data privacy, security, and governance considerations
  • Pilot plan for the highest-value opportunity

Technology Audit & Second Opinion

Find out what you really have, from code and vendors to infrastructure and security, with a prioritized list of fixes.

  • Codebase and architecture review
  • Security, scalability, and reliability assessment
  • Vendor and agency proposal review
  • Cloud cost and infrastructure review
  • Risk-rated findings with a live walkthrough

Proof, not promises

Problems I’ve solved before

Selected work from my time as a CTO and engineering leader.

B2B SaaS startup · Corporate giving

The problem
A young company needed a platform that enterprise brands would trust, built by a small team on a startup budget.
What I did
As CTO, I architected and built the platform from the first line of code, led development, design, and QA, and worked with the CEO to position the company for acquisition.
The result
Enterprise customers including GoPro, Estée Lauder, and Kaiser Permanente adopted the platform, and the company was acquired by YourCause. I then led the migration of clients onto the acquirer’s platform.

Healthcare · Post-surgery recovery

The problem
Providers had no reliable way to know how patients were recovering once they went home after surgery.
What I did
I designed and built a HIPAA-compliant mobile app and provider portal, with configurable alerts that flag patient inactivity and worrying trends in their responses.
The result
Providers could step in in real time instead of waiting for the next appointment, with better patient engagement and recovery tracking.

SaaS · Community apps

The problem
A growing company was maintaining a dozen-plus client apps and websites, and every new client meant more one-off work.
What I did
I architected a single-codebase platform with shared CMS tools, standardized documentation and code review, and streamlined the AWS deployment pipeline.
The result
More than 12 apps and websites running on one platform, with more consistent quality and faster delivery for each new client.
3×Chief Technology Officeracross SaaS, healthcare, and community platforms
ExitBuilt from scratch to acquisitiona B2B SaaS platform, acquired by YourCause
12+SaaS products launchedon a single, scalable platform
10+Years leading engineeringhiring, mentoring, and shipping

Fintech & mortgage · Healthcare (HIPAA) · B2B SaaS · Corporate social responsibility · Community platforms

Meet your technology partner

Hi, I’m Alex Barrett.

I’ve spent my career where business and technology meet: as a hands-on engineer, a three-time CTO, and an engineering executive. As CTO of Profits4Purpose, I built its corporate-giving platform from the first line of code through its acquisition by YourCause; its customers included GoPro, Estée Lauder, and Kaiser Permanente. I’ve also designed HIPAA-compliant healthcare apps and led engineering teams delivering credit and mortgage platforms at scale.

I started Percolate Software to give businesses what I’ve seen make the difference again and again: a senior technology partner who cares about outcomes as much as code. Good software, like good coffee, isn’t rushed. It’s brewed with the right ingredients and the right process.

Based in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho · Working with clients everywhere

Alex Barrett and family hiking beneath a mountain snow bridge
Off the clock, on the trail with my family.

Outcomes first

Success is measured in revenue, savings, speed, and reduced risk, not lines of code or billable hours.

I build, not just advise

I still write code. You get recommendations grounded in what it actually takes to ship, and someone who can do the work.

Plain English, always

No jargon, no hand-waving. You’ll understand every decision, its trade-offs, and what it costs.

Regulated-industry experience

HIPAA healthcare, credit, and mortgage platforms. I build technology that holds up to scrutiny.

Book a call

Tell me the result you want. We’ll work backward from there.

Share a little about where you are and where you want to be. On a free 30-minute call we’ll map the fastest path there, and whether I’m the right fit to help.

  • Free, no-obligation 30-minute call
  • Reply within one business day
  • Honest advice, even if it’s “you don’t need me”

You’ll talk to me directly, not a sales team.

Alex Barrett · Founder & principal consultant