I join the leadership team one to two days a week, get into the code and delivery detail, and make the calls that keep product, engineering and commercial priorities aligned.
At a glance
Senior technical decisions, without a full-time CTO.
- Best for
- Founders and executive teams with a product to deliver, an engineering team to lead or a technical decision that cannot drift.
- Commitment
- One to two scheduled days a week, on a fixed monthly retainer.
- First result
- By day 30: priorities, risks and owners written down, and one improvement shipped.
Decisions get made
I make the technical calls and write each one down, so the team can follow them.
Delivery stays on course
Each week I clear what blocks the team, and I stay close to the code.
AI has an owner
I am accountable for where AI fits, the data it touches and the quality of its output.
You pay for part of the week
I hold the CTO decisions on the scheduled days, and you pay for those days until the business needs a full-time executive.
When this fits
- You need a CTO voice in roadmap, architecture, vendor and hiring decisions.
- Your team can build, but priorities, dependencies and risks are not being resolved.
- You are adopting AI, and nobody owns the risk yet.
What I own
- Architecture choices, technical constraints and risk decisions.
- Engineering priorities, dependencies and review of what ships.
- Role definitions, candidate assessment and vendor due diligence.
First 30 days
- Read the product, code, delivery data and commercial plan.
- Name the blocked decisions, risks and immediate priorities.
- Give roadmap, delivery and technical review a named owner and schedule.
- Ship one improvement so the working relationship is tested in practice.
Related work
- Australian Education Provider
- Student Pay
- Soundspace Studio
Common questions
How much does a fractional CTO cost?
A fractional CTO is usually engaged on a fixed monthly retainer rather than an hourly rate. I work one to two days a week, and the figure depends on which of those it is, the decisions I own and how much delivery work is included, so I price the engagement after scoping it.
How much of your week does the engagement take?
One to two days a week. That is enough to hold the architecture, delivery and hiring decisions and stay close to the code, without the cost of a full-time executive. The days are scheduled rather than fitted around other work.
What is the difference between a CTO and a fractional CTO?
A full-time CTO holds the role every week. A fractional CTO holds the same decisions for an agreed part of the week: technical direction, architecture, delivery, hiring and vendors. It gives a founder senior technical ownership before the business needs a full-time executive.
What are the risks of hiring a fractional CTO?
The main risk is vague advice with no effect on delivery. Ownership can also become blurred, or decisions can disappear when the engagement ends. I stay close to the code, agree who decides what in the first 30 days and keep a written record of the decisions the team must carry forward.
Who needs a fractional CTO?
Founders and executives whose product or engineering team has outgrown ad hoc technical decisions, but who do not yet need a full-time CTO. It fits when roadmap, architecture, vendor, hiring or AI decisions need one accountable technical owner.
Contact
Need a technical decision made before it becomes a delivery problem?
Send the product context, the decision, who is involved and when it needs to be made. I will tell you where I can take ownership.