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Strategic Technology Leadership for D2C Brands
Fractional CTO services engineered to accelerate growth without permanent executive cost. Proven expertise scaling subscription businesses, preparing organisations for investor due diligence, and translating complex technical challenges into measurable revenue outcomes. Led by Neil Bradley—20+ years driving £10M+ growth across e-commerce, subscription, and PE-backed D2C brands.
About Hanabi: Fractional CTO Services That Drive D2C Growth
Why Hanabi Exists
Technology leadership shouldn’t be reserved for enterprises with full C-suite budgets. Hanabi was founded to bridge that gap—delivering strategic technical expertise to ambitious D2C brands, subscription businesses, and growth-stage companies who need senior technology leadership without the permanent overhead.
The name ‘Hanabi’ (花火) is the Japanese word for fireworks—a combination of ‘Hana’ (flower) and ‘bi’ (fire). In Japanese culture, fireworks represent moments of collective beauty and connection. This philosophy drives our approach: creating exceptional digital experiences that forge meaningful connections between brands and their audiences.
The Hanabi Approach: Precision-Engineered for Performance
Fractional CTO services built on two decades of hands-on experience and leadership. Hanabi’s methodology combines strategic vision with operational execution—developed through scaling e-commerce and subscription businesses from £20M to £30M+ in revenue.
Our focus is singular: providing C-level technology strategy and implementation expertise to organisations where hiring a full-time CTO isn’t viable or necessary. Whether preparing for technical due diligence, leading platform migrations, launching customer retention programmes, or building high-performing technical teams—Hanabi delivers measurable outcomes.
Evidence-based decision-making meets F1-inspired precision. Like a Formula 1 team optimising performance through data and iteration, we analyse your technology infrastructure systematically, identify bottlenecks, and implement solutions that compound competitive advantage.
Leadership Background
Key achievements include
Recognised by clients for bridging technical complexity with business strategy, Neil has collaborated with PwC on IT strategy development, managed third-party vendor relationships worth significant operational investment, and championed Agile methodologies in organisations transitioning to mature technology practices.
Recognition
Neil Bradley was with Absolute Collagen for several years and I highly recommend him as he is technically strong and has a strong commercial approach.
Neil has consistently brought practical technical expertise, alongside strategic technological insights, that have fundamentally helped contribute to, build and deliver digital first strategies.
Neil is in my opinion a rare commodity, given the breadth of his knowledge, professional integrity and genuine want to add value.
I would thoroughly recommend Neil to any fast growing e-commerce business; where the balance between technological opportunity and budget, is needing both experienced advice and careful management.
I had the pleasure of working with Neil over a two year period at Cloud Nine Hair. In particular he worked closely with myself and my team on a number of system integration projects where Neil demonstrated his knowledge and experience of connecting ecommerce platforms, with ERP and CRM solutions.
His resilience, attention to detail and willingness to address issues and find solutions contributed heavily to the success of these projects. Neil connected well with the systems team showing himself to be a very helpful, responsive team player.
I had the pleasure of working with Neil whilst at Absolute Collagen and we were both on the leadership team. Neil came with extensive experience which the Absolute Collagen brand and those who Neil collaborated with benefited from significantly.
Not only is Neil hugely experienced and skilled, with an eye for detail, a problem solution focus and a passion for delivering excellence on all projects he works on, Neil has the ability to build strong relationships cross-functionally, bringing an holistic approach, thinking customer and brand first which was so refreshing.
Working with Neil was not only a huge learning experience of how to bring brand and tech together for leading class results but also his warmth, openness and integrity is something I would say all who work with Neil benefit from and is rare to find.
Who We Serve
Hanabi partners with D2C founders, CEOs, and C-suite leaders facing critical technology inflection points:
- Preparing for investor scrutiny: Ensuring technology infrastructure withstands technical due diligence during funding rounds, mergers, or acquisitions
- International expansion: Building scalable, resilient digital foundations for multi-market growth
- Subscription optimisation: Reducing churn, increasing customer lifetime value, and eliminating operational friction
- Leadership gaps: Providing interim or fractional CTO expertise when full-time appointments aren’t justified or available
Previous experience encompasses work with Absolute Collagen, Cloud Nine, Virgin, Mars Drinks, and other recognised brands—from startups requiring MVP guidance to established businesses undertaking digital transformation.
Our Commitments: Sustainable Business Practices
Environmental responsibility through calculated action. Hanabi offsets its carbon footprint through tree planting and carbon reduction projects with Ecologi.
Performance-optimised, lightweight website architecture reduces energy consumption across user devices and data centres—sustainability delivered through technical excellence, not rhetoric.
Working With Hanabi
When you engage Hanabi, you work directly with Neil Bradley—not an account manager, not a junior consultant. If additional specialists are required, they’re vetted collaborators trusted to deliver with the same rigour and accountability.
This isn’t high-volume agency work. Hanabi is structured for strategic partnerships with organisations requiring clarity, technical direction, and someone who understands both architectural detail and commercial imperatives.