Sanjay Akut — Hyper-Focused Niche Positioning, Niche Mastery and Rapid Growth.
Before joining CTOx, Sanjay had a long track record as a CTO in the legal space, including leading tech at a major immigration law firm. He also started his first company at age 19 and had entrepreneurship “in his DNA.” In October 2023, Sanjay realized the market potential for his expertise after speaking on an AI panel at Litify’s LitiQuest conference. By May 2024, he decided to “burn the boats,” left his corporate CTO role, and launched his own fractional CTO practice with full commitment.
Sanjay’s main concern wasn’t his ability to sell — he was confident in his ability to close deals once in a room with the right people.
His biggest challenge? “How do I find and activate the right leads and opportunities?”
Left his corporate job and publicly announced his new practice with a strong, heartfelt LinkedIn post on his last day. Embraced full commitment: “I’m all in. Let’s go.”
Sent tailored LinkedIn messages to key connectors in his niche (immigration law). Leveraged relationships from Litify (a software vendor for law firms) and past speaking engagements.
Positioned himself clearly as a strategic technology leader (not a CIO or IT manager), emphasizing technology as a revenue and efficiency driver — not a cost center.
Adopted the “assume the sale” tactic: proactively suggesting workshop dates, leading confidently, and guiding clients through decisions.
Worked closely with CTOx to craft service offers (workshops, advisory retainers, engaged retainers) and refined language to avoid "hours" and "retainers" — focusing instead on outcomes and value.
Quick Client Conversion
Signed his first client contract within 3 weeks of leaving his job.
Solid Inbound Pipeline
Recurring pipeline from referrals and partnerships — without any cold outreach.
Strategic Litify Partnership
Initially structured as an hourly retainer, later evolved into strategic pre-sales and product advisory support, opening doors to many law firms in his niche.
Huge Revenue Upside
Multiple projects per client — project revenue now surpasses advisory revenue.
Service Delivery Expansion
Built Tuka Tech, his outsourced development arm, scaling project execution with contract-based teams.
First client signed in 3 weeks – Rapid conversion after leaving a corporate role.
Solid inbound pipeline – Referrals and partnerships generate recurring opportunities without cold outreach.
Strategic partnership with Litify – Evolved from hourly retainer to strategic advisory, opening doors to multiple law firms.
Multiple revenue upside – Project revenue now exceeds advisory revenue; multiple engagements per client.
Expanded delivery capacity – Built Tuka Tech, an outsourced development arm, to scale project execution efficiently.
Burning the boats signals confidence and attracts the right clients.
Leverage existing connections before seeking new leads.
Clients pay for progress and results, not hours.
Lead confidently, set the agenda, and guide clients through decisions.
Build delivery capacity through outsourced teams to expand project impact.
One early workshop didn’t convert, leading to important lessons:
After major back surgery complications, Sanjay had to step away temporarily. A client questioned value during this time. With coaching, he shifted from thinking about crediting fees to reaffirming value:
The result?
The same client prepaid 7 months of services plus additional project work at year-end.
Common questions technology leaders ask when exploring the fractional CTO path, answered based on patterns we’ve observed across hundreds of successful members.
