Paul Finlayson Adams

Writing

Technical Due Diligence

The 12-Month Technical Due Diligence Prep Plan

Technical issues cause 20–30% valuation risk in deals. A 12-month prep plan, documentation, security, architecture, team signals, gets you audit-ready.

15 min read
Platform Engineering

Platform Team Topologies: The Right Structure for Your Stage

Only 28% of orgs have a dedicated platform team (CNCF, 2024). Here are the four structural patterns that actually work, and the headcount thresholds where each breaks.

14 min read
Fractional Cto

The First 90 Days as a Fractional CTO

40% of executives fail within 18 months of a new role. Here's the 30-60-90 framework I use to ensure a fractional CTO engagement delivers from day one

17 min read
Cicd

Why Your CI/CD Pipeline Slows Down After 50 Engineers, And How to Fix It

Elite teams deploy 182x more often than low performers. Here's why pipelines break at 50+ engineers, and the four fixes that bring them under 10 minutes.

16 min read
Technical Due Diligence

Technical Due Diligence: What Investors Actually Look For (And How to Prepare)

74% of codebases in M&A reviews contain high-risk vulnerabilities. Here's how to prepare for technical due diligence and avoid a valuation haircut.

23 min read
Platform Engineering

Build vs. Buy: Choosing Your Internal Developer Platform in 2026

Backstage has 3,000+ adopters, yet most teams regret building too early. A neutral framework for the build vs. buy IDP decision at every team size.

15 min read
Fractional Cto

Fractional CTO vs. Full-Time CTO: When to Hire Which

Full-time CTO searches take 3–6 months and cost £270k+ all-in year one. Fractional starts week one at £6–16k/month. Here's the decision framework.

13 min read
Platform Engineering

The Platform Engineering Playbook: From 50 to 300 Engineers

How to build a platform team that actually ships value, elite teams deploy 182x more often. A practical guide for 50–300 engineer orgs.

22 min read
Fractional Cto

What Does a Fractional CTO Actually Do? A Week-by-Week Account

Demand for fractional CTOs grew 68% in 2024. Here's exactly what one does week by week, from day one audits to hiring pipelines and board prep.

20 min read