Fractional CTO services
Most growing businesses reach a point where technology decisions get too big for whoever’s been making them by default: a founder, an ops lead, an outside developer. A fractional CTO steps in at exactly that point.
What a Fractional CTO does
- Sets and owns the technology roadmap, aligned to business goals
- Makes architecture and platform decisions that hold up as you scale
- Evaluates, hires and manages developers, agencies and technology vendors
- Oversees delivery so projects ship on time and to the standard your business needs
- Acts as the technical voice in leadership conversations, budgeting and planning
Signs you need a Fractional CTO
- Technology decisions are being made ad-hoc, with no one clearly accountable for them
- Development projects consistently run late, over budget, or off-spec
- You’re about to make a major platform or vendor decision and don’t have anyone to sanity-check it
- Your current team is strong at building but no one is setting direction
- You’re scaling fast and your systems weren’t built for the load you’re putting on them now
How the engagement works
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01
Discovery & assessment
A review of your current systems, team and technology decisions to see where things stand and where the risk actually is.
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02
Roadmap & priorities
A clear, sequenced plan for what to fix, build or replace first, tied to your business goals rather than a generic best-practices checklist.
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03
Embedded leadership
Ongoing, scheduled involvement: architecture reviews, vendor oversight, and direct work with your team as priorities shift.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Fractional CTO or a Fractional CIO?
A CTO is focused outward, on the product and technology you're building for customers. A CIO is focused inward, on the systems and infrastructure that run the business itself. If your challenge is your product or platform, start with a CTO conversation; if it's internal systems and data, start with CIO.
Will a Fractional CTO manage my existing developers?
Yes, that's typically part of the role: providing direction, code and architecture review, and accountability for a development team or agency that's currently reporting to no one with a technical background.
How much time does a Fractional CTO engagement usually take?
It varies with what you need. Some businesses need a few hours a week for ongoing oversight, others need more concentrated time during a specific initiative like a platform migration. Scope gets set after the discovery call, not before it.
How much does a Fractional CTO cost?
Engagements typically start around $5,000/month depending on scope and hours, a fraction of the $250,000–$350,000+ a full-time CTO salary and benefits package usually runs.
