About Sebastian
Fractional CTO & Interim Tech Leader | Startup-to-Scaleup & Regulated Industries
I help companies turn digital transformation from plan into reality — whether scaling a startup into a professional engineering organization or modernizing complex enterprise IT. I've worked across Travel (Cosa Travel), Finance & Insurance (SONECT, Calingo, others under NDA), Medical (SoCoCo, MedCom), SaaS (Okomo) and more.
I bring deep experience from the startup and scaleup ecosystem, helping founders and leadership teams transition from founder-led tech setups to professional engineering organizations — introducing the structures, processes, and culture to scale without losing velocity. I get up to speed fast, identify the real bottlenecks, and stay hands-on through execution when needed.
My background combines technical depth with strategic thinking. Two ETH Zurich degrees — in Management, Technology and Economics, and in Electrical Engineering — form the foundation. I've served as Partner and CTO at Virtido and held multiple Fractional CTO and Technical Product Owner mandates.
I consistently combine technical insight with business reality. Having scaled Virtido from 0 to 150 FTE and supported many startups in building robust business models, I bridge the gap between customer need and implementation.
A current focus is making AI genuinely useful in engineering — applying GenAI, LLMs, and AI-assisted development tools to real workflows to accelerate delivery and help teams ship more with the same headcount. I also help organizations integrate AI into broader operations, cutting through the hype to focus on feasibility, governance, and ROI.
If you're looking for an experienced sparring partner to drive your digital, engineering, and AI agenda forward — strategically and operationally — I'd be glad to hear from you.
German
Native or bilingual
English
Fluent
French
Basic
Can work on-site
Basel (up to 50km)
Experience
- Virtido AGPartner & CTODIGITAL AND ITAugust 2015 - Today (10 years and 10 months)SwitzerlandTogether with two partners, I built Virtido from the ground up into a global IT services company with over 150 employees worldwide. In this role, I own the company's technical strategy — including our approach to AI and emerging technologies — while developing tailored digital transformation strategies for our clients.My work spans the full range from strategic advisory to hands-on execution. I lead projects both internally and for clients, and manage distributed teams across nearshore and offshore locations — making sure quality, communication, and delivery speed hold up despite the geographic distance.Alongside the technical side, I actively drive commercial growth. I understand how technology and business need to interlock so that digital initiatives don't just work technically, but also deliver real business outcomes.
- Cosa Travel LtdFractional CTOTRAVEL AND TOURISMNovember 2025 - Today (7 months)Zürich, SwitzerlandI am supporting Cosa Travel on an exciting transformation initiative. The company is a well-established boutique agency in the luxury travel segment, with years of expertise and a loyal client base. Now the next step is on the agenda: the consistent digitalization of the business.Together with the team, I'm developing and implementing a digital and technology strategy that prepares Cosa Travel for the systemic shifts reshaping the travel industry. This isn't just about digitalizing existing processes — it's about unlocking new business models that are emerging in an increasingly AI-shaped industry.The combination of traditional craft, personal advisory, and modern digital capabilities holds enormous potential. Building exactly that bridge — between heritage and AI-driven transformation — is my role here.
- sflueckiger.chSelf-Employed Digital EntrepreneurDIGITAL AND ITJanuary 2011 - Today (15 years and 5 months)Basel, SwitzerlandAlongside my work as a Fractional CTO, I've been building my own digital products for over ten years. For me it's never just about building software — it's about solving real problems.
- SoCoCo (wlws.ch) is a MedTech SaaS platform I co-founded and lead as CEO now. It is used in medical schools and higher medical education to deliver structured training in professional and social communication — including methods like motivational interviewing — through standardized clinical cases.
- BUDGT is a personal finance app that helps over 10,000 users keep their day-to-day budgets under control.
- Imnu was a new take on online dating, designed around real-life meetings instead of endless swiping and chatting.
- back2work tackled inefficiencies in the Swiss recruitment market, connecting qualified professionals with companies faster.
- Cryptolio was an offline-first portfolio management app for crypto and DeFi investments.
Through these ventures, I know the full lifecycle of a digital product inside out — from initial idea through concept, development, launch, and live operations. I know what it takes to bring a product to market, win users, and evolve an offering over time.That hands-on founder experience flows directly into my work as a Fractional CTO and my consulting through Virtido. When I support clients with their digital and AI-driven initiatives, I bring not only technical and strategic depth, but also the perspective of someone who has shipped, scaled, and learned from real products in the market.
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Education
- Corporate Master Thesis - Strategic Management2016Corporate Master Thesis - Strategic Management
- MSc ETH MTECEidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich2016MSc ETH MTEC