Fractional CTO
Senior technical leadership, without the full-time hire.
For founders and owners carrying every technical decision alone. A senior CTO who sets the direction, leads your developers, helps you hire and keeps your systems secure, at a fraction of the cost and commitment of a full-time executive.
The problem
When founders call us
- You are the CEO and the de facto CTO, and technical decisions are piling up behind you.
- Your first developers are shipping fast with no plan, no code reviews and no roadmap.
- An investor, customer or SOC 2 request needs technical answers nobody on your side can give.
- You hired a dev shop and nobody can tell whether the work is good or on track.
How we help
What you get
01
A clear technical plan
A written architecture and roadmap tied to your business goals: what to build, what to buy and what to leave for later.
02
A team that ships well
Code review standards, a steady delivery rhythm and a sensible process for the team you have and the people you are about to hire.
03
Better hiring and vendor choices
Job descriptions, interviews and candidate or agency evaluation, so your next technical hire is the right one.
04
Security and investor readiness
A solid security baseline, groundwork for SOC 2, HIPAA or due diligence, and a technical story that holds up with investors.
Pricing
Choose the level of support you need.
Diagnostic
$4,500 to $7,500, fixed
A two-week technical audit and written roadmap. The lowest-risk way to start, and you keep the plan either way.
Advisory
From $2,000 per month
Lighter-touch monthly access for founders who mostly need a senior sounding board.
Fractional CTO retainer
From $5,000 per month
Ongoing senior leadership on a set monthly cadence, scaled to your team and stage.
In practice
What a fractional CTO handles
- Choosing the right architecture before an expensive rewrite becomes necessary
- Managing an outside dev shop on your behalf and checking the quality of its work
- Interviewing and hiring your first engineers
- Answering security questionnaires and preparing for investor due diligence
- Getting hands-on in the code and infrastructure when the situation calls for it
- Hiring your full-time CTO when you are ready, and handing everything over cleanly
How it works
Simple steps, no surprises.
- 1
Free call
We learn where you are and tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.
- 2
Diagnose
A short technical audit of your systems, team and roadmap, with a written plan you keep.
- 3
Embed
We join on a set cadence, lead the technical side and report to you in plain English.
- 4
Hand off
When you need a full-time CTO, we help you hire them and transfer everything.
What clients say
“Always available, endlessly patient in explaining every decision, calm in every emergency, and the quality of the platform has never let us down.”
FAQ
Common questions
How much does a fractional CTO cost?
Lighter-touch advisory starts at $2,000 per month, and the full fractional CTO retainer starts at $5,000 per month, both month to month with no lock-in. Your team size and cadence set the number, agreed on the first call. If you would rather start small, the two-week diagnostic is $4,500 to $7,500, fixed, and you keep the written roadmap either way.
How many hours per month is a fractional CTO?
Engagements usually run a set number of days per month on a monthly retainer, scaled to your stage. We size it together on the first call.
Is a part-time CTO the same as a fractional CTO?
In practice, yes. Part-time, interim and fractional CTO all mean senior technical leadership without a full-time hire. Interim usually covers a gap, while fractional is designed as the steady state. Either way, ask who exactly does the work, how many days a month, and what happens when you outgrow it.
How is this different from hiring a dev agency?
An agency builds what you ask for. A fractional CTO decides what should be built, keeps the team honest and protects your budget and timeline, often by managing the agency for you.
Do you also write code?
Yes, when it moves the needle. We are a senior engineering team, not just advisors, and we get hands-on with architecture, critical features and infrastructure.
What happens when we are ready for a full-time CTO?
We help you hire them and hand off cleanly. A good fractional engagement is designed to make itself unnecessary.
Related services
- MVP & Vibe-Coded App to ProductionLearn more
- Cybersecurity AuditsLearn more
- Websites & Custom SoftwareLearn more
Further reading and free tools
Let's build something better for your business.
Tell us what is slowing you down. In 30 minutes you will know whether we can help, and what it would take.