Frequently Asked Questions
What does a fractional CTO actually do?
Everything a full-time CTO does — technology strategy, architecture decisions, engineering leadership, vendor negotiations, and board reporting — at a fraction of the cost and commitment.
When do companies need a fractional CTO?
At Series A/B when you need to scale engineering without a full-time exec, during a platform rebuild, before a fundraise that requires tech due diligence, or when the founding technical leader has hit their ceiling.
How much does a full-time CTO cost vs fractional?
Full-time CTO: $250K-$400K salary plus equity. Fractional CTO: $6K-$15K/month for 2-3 days/week — the same strategic output for 30-40% of the cost.
Can you help hire a permanent CTO?
Yes — we often serve as interim CTO while helping define the role, run the search, and onboard the permanent hire. Many clients use us as a bridge.
How does a fractional CTO work day-to-day?
Typically 2-3 days per week, split between strategic work (roadmap, architecture, vendor decisions) and people work (1:1s with engineering leads, hiring decisions, team structure). Available async for urgent decisions the other days.
Can a fractional CTO lead fundraising tech due diligence?
Yes — preparing for and responding to investor technical due diligence is one of the highest-value fractional CTO activities. We document architecture decisions, technical debt, scalability roadmap, and team capability in investor-ready format.
What is your process for evaluating our current tech stack?
We assess scalability, security posture, technical debt load, team capability to maintain/extend, vendor dependencies, and total cost of ownership — delivering a prioritized modernization roadmap with ROI estimates for each initiative.