Outsourced CTO services: How a promising DeFi project scaled quickly

With the booming demand in blockchain technology, a lot of DeFi projects have been competing to provide services. However, it is easier said than done. Each project’s objectives are not easy to achieve with the looming threats of hacks from bad actors and with the lacking advanced technical expertise to address the current demands of time.

Hence, the role of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is crucial for the survival and growth of these companies. CTOs can equip them with the necessary tech and tactics to combat the impending dangers of the dark web and malicious perpetrators, and move forward with the project’s desired features without hesitation on how to do it.

However, hiring an in-house CTO can be both costly and challenging. This is especially true for fledgling crypto projects that have a tight budget to consider and a short timeline to beat.

Outsourcing these crucial CTO requirements has become a practical option.

This was the case of PrivacySwap, which employed the services of Privacy Ninja’s CTO-as-a-Service. But before we dwell on that, let us first define what this outsourced service is and what its benefits are to organizations that have them, especially SMEs.

What is CTO-as-a-Service?

CTO-as-a-Service, also known as CTOaaS, refers to part-time tech and business consultancy services provided by a Chief Technology Officer to aid a startup or a company. It is responsible for managing an organization’s current technology architecture, drafting relevant policies, value-adding in business consultancy and Go-To-Market strategy, fitted to the product or service offering.

While hiring a full-time CTO is ideal, it comes with a hefty price tag and not all companies can afford it. Different companies have different technical and digital requirements, and these issues typically fall into four common categories:

• Full-time CTOs are expensive – When you hire in-house, you will increase your burn rate and shorten your runway.

• It’s difficult to find and retain a talented CTO – There’s a shortage of capable CTOs in the market.

• Training a new CTO takes time and money – You lose precious time, effort, and resources when you retrain or hire a CTO when your current CTO leaves.

When companies choose to outsource their CTO, the problems above are addressed, and organizations can self-assess their digital readiness and requirements at any time and from any location, access market-proven and cost-effective digital solutions, and engage expert digital consultants for in-depth advisory and project management services.

PrivacySwap with an outsourced CTO

PrivacySwap started off as an ecosystem for yield farming created on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) by a team of cybersecurity experts. Now, it has become a decentralized exchange for all intents and purposes for users to benefit and grow their money with.  

With the rise of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, as well as the rise of decentralized ecosystems, PrivacySwap intends to give an additional utility to strengthen the usability and integrity of not only DeFi and blockchain but also cyberspace. With blockchain and cryptocurrency being acknowledged as the way forward, PrivacySwap aims to insert a layer of privacy protection to bolster its security and integrity.

But, the way moving forward from being a DeFi Automated Market Maker (AMM) yield farming platform to a decentralized exchange (DEX) was not a smooth ride.

With the changing landscape in the DeFi space day by day, the looming threat to any potential hacks is a constant adversary. In addition to this, PrivacySwap has been struggling to find developers with advanced knowledge of tech to lead the innovations needed to improve the services provided.

To solve these problems, PrivacySwap engaged the services of Dexter Ng, the CTO of Privacy Ninja. Dexter contributed to strengthening its core team competency, heading its product and business development team, and spearheading the security efforts to ensure that it is free from any backdoor access by malicious actors. 

PrivacySwap engaged the CTOaas service of Privacy Ninja, and in return, constant improvements and strategies have been employed with Dexter by its side as it went on to:

• launch into governance token-based platform,
• eventually transition into its own BSC Decentralized Exchange, and
• have the world’s first web 3.0 Metamask direct crypto to debit card loading system.

Smart contract audits were a frequent agenda item before each new feature launch of PrivacySwap, and its DDoS attacks were in the millions. These were all successfully mitigated under Dexter’s oversight. For its business development, Dexter also spearheaded partnerships and collaborations, which were paramount to the project’s success to be sustainable, which coincided with the crypto bear market downturn.

With the help of Dexter, PrivacySwap officially launched its first NFT Collection called “Genesis NFT collection,” one of Dexter’s innovative value-added ideas. Now, PrivacySwap is well on its way to disrupting the web 3.0 space in the crypto community. 

Why PrivacySwap engaged a CTOaas

PrivacySwap, unlike many other cryptocurrency startup projects, decided from the beginning that it intended to expand and remain in the industry for the long term. The original crew of the nascent DeFi project consisted of capable developers and passionate crypto geeks, but they lacked the advanced technical knowledge required to grow the project. Due to limited time and resources, it is impossible to hire a full-time Chief Technology Officer.

Thankfully, they discovered Privacy Ninja’s CTO-as-a-Service. They took advantage of the service’s inexpensive and flexible broad scope of services. By delegating this obligation to a seasoned third party, the PrivacySwap team was able to concentrate on developing robust features. In addition, they accomplished early milestones despite market swings.

The Privacy Ninja advantage

Outsourcing your CTO requirements to Privacy Ninja gives you the assurance that you can achieve your business goals efficiently and affordably. Our resident CTO, Dexter Ng, has more than ten years of experience working with tech startup companies in Singapore and abroad. Under his watch, these companies were provided with cutting-edge technology and ideas. He is also competent in the areas of technical development, business consulting, project management, and data protection.

Under this model, there are two types of services you can harness:

• Dedicated hourly consultation – if you need a quick discussion to validate your roadmap. Choose this to tap on our expertise to get the answers you need instantly.

• Bespoke CTO-as-a-Service – if you require monthly or longer-term engagements from us.

We will fulfil your digital requirements at different stages of your business growth. Whether you’re a young startup with technology at your core, or an SME seeking digital adoption, we will help you get onboarded quickly.

Ready to kick start your digitalization journey? Outsource your CTO responsibilities to us today!

Also Read: CTO-as-a-Service: 5 ways outsourcing can benefit your business