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- Fractional CTO
Fractional CTO for startups and growing businesses: senior technical leadership, part time
A fractional CTO sets your technical direction a few days a month: strategy, architecture, supplier and hiring decisions, security and board updates. Unlike most fractional CTOs, ours comes with a delivery team, and hands-on experience of legacy IIS and .NET estates.
What a fractional CTO does
The work a full-time CTO would do, focused on the decisions that matter most this quarter.
Technical strategy
A written plan linking your business goals to architecture, team and spend for the next 12–18 months.
Architecture and stack decisions
Build or buy, which platforms, what to keep and what to retire, with the reasoning written down.
Vendors and agencies
Briefing, choosing and managing suppliers, and reviewing their estimates and code before you sign off.
Hiring
Role definitions, interview loops and technical tests, and help hiring your first engineers or a full-time CTO.
Security and risk
Access, backups, data protection and supplier risk brought to a level your customers and insurers expect.
Board and investor support
Technology updates for the board, and preparation for investor technical due diligence.
A good fit
- Startups and SMEs without a full-time technical leader
- Founders relying on an agency or freelancers and unsure if the work is good
- Companies with a legacy platform and no one senior who understands it
- Teams preparing for investment or technical due diligence
Probably not for you
- Engineering teams large enough to need a full-time CTO every day
- Anyone looking for a developer to write code rather than lead decisions
Three ways to work together
Strategy sprint
2–4 weeksAn audit of your product, code, suppliers and team, ending in a written technical strategy and a prioritised plan.
Ongoing fractional CTO
2–6 days a monthA named senior technologist in your leadership team: weekly check-ins, supplier oversight, hiring and board updates.
Fractional CTO + build team
MonthlyThe same leadership, with our designers and engineers available to deliver the plan, so strategy and delivery never drift apart.
Every engagement is quoted as a monthly fee for an agreed number of days. Email us for a price range.
Your first 90 days
- Days 1–30
Listen and audit
Interviews with the founders and team, a review of code, hosting, suppliers and costs, and a risk register.
- Days 31–60
Plan
A written technical strategy and roadmap, agreed with the leadership team and shared with the board.
- Days 61–90
Deliver
The first priorities in motion: suppliers re-briefed, quick security fixes made and hiring started if needed.
- Ongoing
Lead
Regular check-ins, decisions documented, and a monthly report on progress, risks and spend.
Fractional, full-time or interim CTO?
Fractional vs full-time CTO in detail →| Fractional CTO | Full-time CTO | Interim CTO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commitment | A few days a month | Full time, permanent | Full time, fixed term |
| Cost structure | Monthly fee for agreed days | Salary, benefits, equity, recruitment fees | Day rate, usually via an agency |
| Time to start | Days to weeks | Months to recruit | Weeks |
| Best for | Startups and SMEs without a full-time need | Tech-led companies at scale | Covering a gap or a crisis |
| Delivery team | Available with us | Hired separately | Hired separately |
Leadership and delivery under one roof
Most fractional CTOs advise and leave the building to someone else. Ours can hand the plan straight to our designers and engineers, or oversee yours. And if your business still runs on ASP.NET Web Forms or IIS, you get a CTO who has looked after those systems, not just read about them.