Consulting
Fractional CTO for startups and SMEs
A fractional CTO is a part-time technical lead who makes your company's technology decisions alongside you. It is for startups and SMEs that build software or depend on it, but don't yet have, or need, a full-time chief technology officer. You get well-reasoned decisions, suppliers kept under close watch and a technical team growing in the right direction.
Technical decisions, business consequences
Choosing a technology, a supplier or an architecture looks like a technical call, but it shapes the business for years: maintenance costs, how quickly you can ship new features, how easy it is to hire. Without someone weighing those choices, they get made by default. A fractional CTO gives you that judgement without the cost of a full-time executive.
On your side of the table
When software is built by suppliers, the people commissioning it can rarely judge what they receive. We sit on your side: we read the proposals, review the code and the deliveries, and turn technical answers into business decisions. If the supplier is good, that becomes obvious. If not, you find out early.
Typical work
- Choosing the technology for a new product and justifying the choice
- Reviewing a supplier's proposal before you sign
- Running your first developer hiring process
- Setting quality, testing and release rules for the team
- Planning the move from an MVP to a full product
A role designed to change
A fractional CTO isn't meant to stay forever. We help the company grow to the point where in-house technical leadership makes sense, and prepare that handover. Until then, you have someone to ask and a record of every decision.
What you get
- Architecture and technology decisions, explained in writing
- A technical roadmap aligned with your business goals
- Role profiles, technical interviews and candidate assessment
- Regular reviews of the work done by in-house or external developers
- Supplier proposals assessed and supplier work overseen
- Sound practice on security, backups and data protection
- Technical representation in meetings with customers, partners or investors
Best for
- Startups building a product without a technical co-founder
- SMEs buying software from outside suppliers with no way to judge the work
- Founders about to hire their first developers
- Companies whose technical lead has left and who need continuity
Typical features and modules
Payments & sales
Integrations & automation
Visibility & SEO
- Analytics & conversion tracking
Compliance & security
- Security hardening
- GDPR pack
Hosting, e-mail & maintenance
- Admin training
How we deliver it
An initial session to understand the product, the team and the suppliers
A technical review and a list of the most urgent decisions
Agreeing how often we meet and how many hours a month
Regular meetings with management and with the technical team
A quarterly review of the roadmap and of the need for an in-house CTO
Frequently asked questions
How is a fractional CTO different from hiring a developer?
A developer builds. A CTO decides what to build, how and with whom, and checks that the result serves the business. Most companies need both, but without the second they end up paying for work that goes nowhere.
How many hours a month will we need?
It depends on the company's stage and the size of the technical team. We set a monthly number of hours in the proposal and adjust it as your needs change. This can be a monthly retainer, one of the models explained in how we work.
Can you oversee another development company?
Yes. We review your supplier's proposals, timelines and deliveries and ask the technical questions your company can't. The aim is a project that goes well, whoever is building it.
Will you help us hire our own technical team?
Yes. We define the roles, sit in on interviews and prepare technical exercises. Once the in-house team is ready, we hand over our knowledge and the documented decisions to whoever stays.
Can you talk to investors about the product?
We can. We explain the architecture, the technical risks and the roadmap clearly, and answer the technical questions in a due diligence. For a deeper independent assessment, there is our software and architecture audit.
How do we get started?
Usually with a paid diagnostic session or a short audit of what already exists. With that in hand, you decide whether to continue with monthly support.
How much does it cost?
Every project is quoted by hand from your requirements, so pricing is on request. Tell us what stage the company is at and who builds your software today. Request a quote
Shall we talk about your project?
Tell us what you have in mind and what you want to achieve.