What does it cost to work with you?

It depends. I know "it depends" isn't satisfying, but it's honest: audit, project rescue and fractional CTO have different sizes and timelines. I give you the price in our first call, after I understand what you actually need. What's certain: it's written down before we start, and it's fixed. No quotes that keep growing, no surprises halfway through.

How quickly will I see real results?

Audit: written report in your hands in 2-3 days. Project rescue: first changes live within 1-2 weeks, completion in 2-4 weeks. Fractional CTO: from the first week you have a written technical roadmap and the first decisions made — you don't wait a month to see what's changing.

Do you only work remote or also in person?

Remote, mostly. I come on-site when it actually matters — kick-off, strategic workshops, on-site audits. Veneto, Lombardia and Emilia covered easily; other regions with travel expenses. No theater of mandatory presence.

Do you also work full-time somewhere else?

Yes — I'm a Tech Lead at an enterprise company, and that's exactly where the technical level I bring to your project comes from. That's why I work with very few clients at a time, with clear scope: audit, time-boxed rescue, light monthly retainer. My availability is limited by design, not despite everything. If you need someone full-time every day, you need an in-house dev — and I'll be the first to tell you.

What happens if after the audit we decide not to continue?

Nothing bad. The report is yours, take it home — it contains everything another dev or team needs to act. The initial 30-minute call is free, the audit has a fixed price agreed up front. Zero ambiguity, no hidden clauses.

Do you only work with startups or also with SMBs?

Both. Founders validating an idea, CTOs inheriting a codebase, SMBs with stuck internal software or a developer who stopped replying to emails. I bring value in all these cases — it's not the company size that matters, it's whether you actually need a senior technical reference.

Can I have a fractional CTO while I already have internal developers?

Yes, and it's one of the most common cases. You have devs (internal or external) but no one makes technical decisions or coordinates. That's the role I play: I don't replace the team, I lead it. Direct Slack, weekly call, no disappearances. If there's a promising senior dev, my goal is also to help them grow until they can replace me.

What stacks are you specialized in?

Next.js, TypeScript, Node.js, Python, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, AWS, Vercel — that's where I'm fastest. But fractional CTO isn't about the stack: it's about picking the right one for your stage and executing. I also work with inherited codebases on other stacks — actually, that happens often. If I think the stack choice is wrong, I'll tell you.

How does invoicing work?

Italian invoice with VAT. Audit and project rescue: 50% upfront, 50% on delivery. Fractional CTO: monthly invoice, renewable quarterly contract (no annual lock-ins). Payment by bank transfer. Clean, invoiced, traceable.

Marco Salatin.Fractional CTO · Software project unblocker

IT Book a call

Blue Silk.

An approach to software. A way of thinking about systems that you shape instead of suffer.

What blue silk is

Blue silk is the state where software stops feeling like an ungovernable beast and becomes a fabric you can shape.

You recognize it immediately: code is readable in 5 minutes, decisions are written somewhere, each module has clear boundaries, tests run in 30 seconds, mid-day deploys are normal.

Blue silk isn't elegance. It's the minimum condition where a team can work without fear and a founder can make informed decisions.

The opposite: the stone wall

You know you're facing a stone wall when: nobody touches that module because "it might break"; deploys happen Friday afternoon because "we're back Monday to fix"; the senior dev is the only one who understands a critical piece; bugs return after being fixed; the team gets frustrated and talent leaves.

The stone wall isn't a sudden disaster. It's the cumulative product of "quick" decisions made for months.

How I get to blue silk

Five principles. No fluff.

Reduction before addition.

Every added feature is a choice. Every removed feature is a leadership decision.

Explicit decisions.

If it matters, it's written. Architecture Decision Records readable in 5 minutes, not docs nobody opens.

Right stack, not resume stack.

Technology must serve the business, not the resume of whoever picks it.

Clear module boundaries.

What goes in, what comes out, who's responsible. Always. Modularity is strategic, not aesthetic.

Continuous, not heroic refactoring.

Small constant interventions, not big rewrites that fail.

Manifesto

Ten statements.

1A system you're afraid to touch is a broken system.
2Technical debt isn't bad by definition. It becomes bad when you stop paying it.
3Readability beats cleverness, always.
4A technical decision without a signed name is a decision nobody defends.
5Three hours of refactoring today are worth thirty hours of rework in three months.
6Delivery speed isn't how much code you write. It's how quickly you can change it.
7Documentation nobody updates is worse than silence.
8Mid-day deploys are an indicator of health, not an act of courage.
9Every external dependency is future debt. Choose them as carefully as you'd choose a co-founder.
10Technical complexity can't be eliminated. It can be moved. Pick where.

I build software in blue silk. If you want systems that don't scare you, let's talk.