Fractional CTO and senior product/engineering leadership for B2B SaaS and high-growth startups. I help companies define what to build, build it right, and ship it fast.
How I Can Help
Hands-on product and engineering leadership, from prototype to scaled team.
Ongoing product and technology leadership, without the full-time cost. Whether the engagement is a formal fCTO arrangement or a high-impact product and engineering initiative, I embed with your team and operate at the level your company needs. Strategy, roadmap, architecture, team, compliance, vendor decisions, and more.
From product vision to scalable SaaS platform. I help you sequence the roadmap, make the right build-vs-buy calls, and design multi-tenant, API-first systems that balance speed-to-market with long-term extensibility.
First hires, career ladders, hiring pipelines, and product/engineering processes. I've built teams from zero to 25+ at both startups and Fortune 500s — and I know what works at each stage.
AI has opened the door to lots of new possibilities. Building prototypes is easy, but productizing AI products still requires work and real software engineering expertise. I build productized AI agents and ship AI capabilities into existing SaaS products in ways that drive real value.
I wire AI and non-AI tooling across the product and engineering workflow to compound team velocity in ways that matter, while helping maintain a healthy team culture.
Why Go-Plaid
I've been in the room for first products, first roadmaps, first teams, first funding rounds, and first revenue events.
I've co-founded two companies, secured seed funding, executed pivots, and navigated acquisitions. I understand the tradeoffs you're making because I've made them myself.
Over a decade of fractional engagements means I've probably seen your problem before. I know which shortcuts are smart and which ones will cost you six months later.
From PwC and GE to high-growth BNPL platforms and IoT startups. I write code, review PRs, coach engineers, help pitch investors, and talk to your board — all in the same week.
Selected Work
A sample of what gets delivered when you bring in experienced leadership.
Client Roster
Industries
Fintech is my home base, but I've shipped products across a wide range of industries.
About Neal
I'm Neal Tovsen, and I've spent 25+ years leading product and engineering at startups and high-growth companies — from enterprise consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers and GE Energy to co-founding two startups, to 20+ engagements as a senior product and engineering leader.
My engagements range from formal Fractional CTO arrangements to high-impact product and engineering initiatives where you need a senior product/technical voice in the room — defining the roadmap, shaping the architecture, and driving the team. A client once named me their "Tech Doula." The title varies; the level of impact doesn't.
Lately I've been deep in AI — shipping productized AI agents, embedding AI capabilities into B2B SaaS platforms, and building AI tooling across engineering workflows to compound team velocity.
B2B SaaS is my sweet spot, with a strong fintech thread running through a decade of work in payments, BNPL, P2P marketplaces, and expense management. Based in Minneapolis, MN. Available for engagements nationwide.
Every line of code that someone writes is placing a bet on behalf of the business. My mission is to ensure the technology is placing bets in line with the bets being placed by the business.
Get In Touch
I'm always happy to meet new founders and talk through big problems — even if Go-Plaid isn't the right fit, I'll point you in the right direction.
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