Fractional CTO_Travel Tech Start-Up

## About the Role We are a vision-driven founding team with a designer, developer, and engineer in place. We are rebuilding the platform from the ground up — Version 2 — and need an experienced technical leader to own all architectural decisions and guide the team from the top. - Define and own the tech stack — evaluate and select the right frontend, backend, database, and third-party services for a marketplace of this complexity - Architect the booking flow end-to-end — from resort inventory and availability through payment processing, booking confirmation, and post-stay retention - Own security and compliance from day one — payments, user data, privacy, and subscription data - Select and integrate the right CRM — one that manages our three-sided relationships across travelers, creators/advisors, and resort partners - Set up creator commission and payout infrastructure — ensuring accurate attribution, commission calculation, and compliant payouts via Stripe Connect or equivalent - Connect all systems cleanly — CRM, booking engine, payments, AI layer, email, and analytics must talk to each other without manual data patching - Protect us from costly early mistakes — wrong architectural decisions at this stage mean expensive rebuilds later - Translate between business vision and technical execution — our founding team is non-technical and needs a trusted technical voice who can communicate clearly without jargon - Oversee and guide the existing tech team — provide direction, review technical decisions, and ensure the team is building the right things in the right order - Start with a full audit of the current live platform before defining the V2 rebuild path ## What We Are Building A marketplace platform serving three audiences: - Travelers — discover, follow their favorite creators and advisors, and book curated luxury island and beach resorts instantly in one place - Travel Creators & Advisors — build a branded storefront, share their expertise, and earn commission on every booking they drive - Resort Partners — feature their properties and exclusive offers to a qualified audience of travelers ready to book The platform includes: - Booking engine with real-time availability and direct channel manager connectivity - Commission and automatic payouts for creators and advisors - Subscription plans for creators, advisors, and resorts - Monthly bidding for featured placement - Membership with exclusive resort rates - AI-powered travel recommendations to connect creators and suggested resorts - Mobile-first app built for discovery and instant booking ## What We Are Looking For - Has built a marketplace, booking platform, or creator commerce platform before - Experience with subscription billing, bidding systems, or marketplace monetization - Travel tech, luxury ecommerce, or fintech experience is a strong plus - Proven track record of delivering on time in a startup environment - Communicates clearly with non-technical founders - no jargon ## Engagement Details - Type: Fractional — part-time with the opportunity to transition into a full-time role - Stage: vuecollection.com is live. Rebuild V2 - Location: Remote - Compensation: Open - fee and equity considered for the right person