Learn more about what you can expect and how we usally operate.
For a deeper understanding of our operations, services, and working methods, we have compiled a comprehensive question-and-answer section that sheds some light on Cortip's approach.
No, our model aligns more closely with that of a consulting agency. We do not retain developers or any other personnel who do not provide consultancy services. Our role is to source top talent for your business needs and facilitate contractual agreements for their expertise. We maintain relationships with these exceptional specialists even after project completion, enabling us to present their services to other clients when suitable. Our approach is strategic, not focused on outsourcing an extensive workforce, as we do not employ superfluous staff at the outset.
Yes. We are a remote agency, our team works remotely, we specialize in remote staffing and we source remote contractors.
We have the capability to procure talent from any country that aligns with our client's agreement. Typically, we consider the available budget, project requirements, and client preferences before recommending an optimal strategy. Our priority is to target countries with at least a partial overlap in time zones.
Excerpt from Talent Contract:
8. Trade Compliance. Contractor represents and warrants that (a) Contractor is not a national of and does/will not reside in or perform any Services from a Prohibited Region (defined below), (b) Contractor will not request or cause Cortip to transfer any funds into a financial institution that is located within a Prohibited Region, and (c) Contractor is not identified on any Prohibited List (defined below). “Prohibited Region” means any country or region with respect to which U.S. law prohibits transactions, including the payment of funds or the export, re-export, or transfer of items, services, or technology, including but not necessarily limited to the Crimea region of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Syria. “Prohibited List” includes, without limitation, the Specially Designated Nationals and Consolidated Sanctions Lists (maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury); the Denied Persons, Entity, and Unverified Lists (maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of Commerce); and the Consolidated List of sanctions designations by the United Nations, European Union and United Kingdom. Contractor shall notify Cortip immediately if Contractor’s status under this Section 8 changes. This Agreement will terminate immediately upon any noncompliance with this Section 8. Further, if Contractor breaches any of the representations and warranties of this Section 8, without limiting Cortip’s remedies under this Agreement, (a) Contractor acknowledges and agrees that no fees or other amounts will be due or payable to Contractor for any Services performed for Cortip or any Client during all periods of such noncompliance, (b) Contractor will, if requested by Cortip, return any such amounts paid to Contractor by Cortip for any Services performed in noncompliance with this Section 8, and this Agreement will be automatically terminated immediately upon such noncompliance, without action or notice by Cortip necessary to effect such termination.
We ensure you're equipped with the necessary tools, strategies, and product management understanding. Additionally, we handle the initial roadmap planning and prioritize the first batch of tasks to set the stage for success. Afterward, clients often choose to have us find a competent product manager who can maintain the momentum at a lower rate planned for the long term. We regularly perform check-ins to confirm that everything is proceeding smoothly, stakeholders are satisfied, and we're prepared to address any issues that may arise.
Starting work with our team is straightforward. Book an exploratory meeting where we'll quickly discuss your project, needs, tech stack, and main issues. During this call, our goal is to understand if we possess the expertise in your area and assess our usefulness to your project.
If there is mutual interest, we will proceed by signing a contract. You will then decide how many hours you want to cover in advance so that we can get started. For instance, you could pay for 5 hours, where usually 3-4 hours are dedicated to a thorough investigation of the situation by talking on calls with various stakeholders, with the remaining time allotted for our own research into your specific context. From this, we can provide a plan laying out options for the next steps.
Should our service meet your expectations, we can arrange for a recurring deposit of a certain number of hours per month. This will allow us to dive into management, tool implementation, stakeholder communication, roadmap building, and more.
Once we've developed the roadmap, the usual next step is to start looking for full-time management staff to handle daily operations. This leads to team-building, mentoring leaders, ensuring quality, and so on.
After the team is set up, we usually scale down on hours, but we always remain available for assistance when needed.
The workload will depend on the project and our current obligations with other clients, as we strive not to oversell and maintain top-notch service.
We enter your organization as consultants and assume the role of fractional managers. Once we pinpoint opportunities, we strategize about the resources to recruit, outlining the hiring timeline and the specific profiles of the specialists we require. With your consent, we essentially act as your hiring managers and execute the plan. We do not take projects where we do not have expertise. If we can’t help, we will do all we can to document the outcomes so it will be useful in the future.
Usually, it takes a couple of weeks.
Consulting is charged on an hourly basis and paid for upfront.
The sourcing and screening process is complimentary and not included in billable hours.
You may opt to directly contract the freelancer through a buyout arrangement or select our default option, where you are invoiced upfront for one month of the talent's work. We will then handle contracting and all legal matters internally. In the event of a mismatch, we can either secure a replacement using the remaining budget or issue a refund for the unused portion.
You can expect to get Fractional CTO level support.
The contract between the Client and Cortip includes the transfer of intellectual property (IP) to the client.
The agreement between the Talent and Cortip encompasses the transfer of IP to Cortip (to enable fulfillment of the aforementioned commitment to the Client) and also grants Cortip the power of attorney to manage IP matters.
Yes, of course. That's very much preferred.
In case of consulting: we can refund unbilled hours.
In the case of hiring talent: We can either replace the talent or refund the unused portion of your budget. For instance, if you paid $5000 for the upcoming month and decided to terminate the talent's contract after one week, you could expect a refund of approximately $3750 (* there's a few day notice period, so it wouldn't be exactly 75%), or these funds could be reallocated to cover the costs of a new talent.
This is where we excel. Our expertise in engineering management proves to be invaluable, as this role is essential in unifying all aspects and emphasizing effective communication. We will mentor your leaders on the significance of one-on-one interactions, methods to engage with your staff, career development, advancement of skills, Agile methodologies and procedures, among other things. Rest assured, this is the fundamental service that we provide.
Jira 🚀
We will make sure you're in the loop all the time.
Typically, our focus is on long-term projects with an emphasis on software products (SaaS, E-commerce, multi-user platforms). However, this does not bind you to a contract; you are free to cancel at any time.
Consulting sessions can be scheduled through Calendly. International contractors operate based on the initial agreement and requirements established prior to their engagement. For instance, we could even assemble three teams for you to provide coverage across all time zones on Earth – in Brazil, Eastern Europe, and Vietnam (if you would have such need, of course).
No problem. We can always get you more Talents. Shrinking down is also ok.
There are three options available:
1. We, as consultants, can serve as managers and oversee the deliverables.
2. We will source, screen and hire team leads and managers who will oversee everything and become part of your in-house full-time contractors' team. Of course will monitor their competence an deliverables. This is similar to No. 1, just usually on larger scale.
3. You take charge of oversight (provided you have a capable individual for the role).
We have our own proprietary ways on sourcing and screening contractors. It’s a mix of AI analysis and in-person online interviews to find the best Talents.
We terminate contract with Talent and we find a new Talent. Simple. New Talent search is similar to initial Talent search.
If it were foreseen, you wouldn’t need us, haha. That’s our job.
Yes. We are always near.
We meticulously analyze every aspect and gain a thorough understanding of the project. Our next step is to confirm that the agency implements the best practices in software development. Following that, we ensure knowledge transferability. We bring in a new individual, whom we present as an in-house team member, and they begin collaborating with the existing team. Once all the know-how is transferred, we execute the switch. Naturally, this is merely one of the many possible scenarios. Depending on the situation, we might opt for a direct cut-over or a hybrid approach.
Yes, of course.
Consider Vygandas Pliasas (Founder of Cortip) your Fractional CTO. We will deal with it.
1. We check CV
2. We cross-check the initial interview story with CV and skills
3. We send home coding challenge
4. We perform live coding session (optional)
5. We conduct culture fit check
6. You talk to candidates
You will stop issuing SOWs and will start creating more frequent tickets with requirements. Yes, the pace will increase. That’s why we recommend counting in Product Owner into the new team.
You can consider them the same team. In fact, they are your new people. It's just paperwork which is different.
Yes, of course. That's the idea 😊
We can adjust our hiring requirements according to your company strategy.
Fractional CTO.
Yes.
Depends on your needs.
We can help creating effective Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC).
Yes.
Yes.
