Decisions3 min read
Fractional CTO or full-time CTO: which does an early-stage company need?
By Sannan MalikPublished
Short answerHire a full-time CTO when you have in-house engineers who need someone leading them every day, or when technology is the product and decisions come weekly. Choose a fractional CTO when the build is outsourced and needs oversight, when you are still making pre-funding decisions, or when the technical questions arrive in bursts. Either way, judge the role by what it hands you in writing.
What a fractional CTO is actually for
A fractional CTO is a senior technical person who works with you part-time. Their job is judgement: which architecture, which vendor, which feature waits, what the build should cost and whether the work you are paying for is sound.
Most early companies do not have enough of that work to fill a week. They have a burst of it at the start, a few hard calls each month, and a build happening somewhere else. A full-time executive in that position spends much of the week waiting, or starts writing code to stay busy, and then nobody is checking the code.
A full-time CTO does a different job. They manage people. They hire engineers, run the team's daily rhythm, own the system when it breaks at night, and sit in the leadership meetings where product and money are decided. Once that work exists, part-time stops being enough.
Signals that decide it
My rule is simple. Count the engineers you employ directly. If someone has to lead them every working day, you need a full-time technical leader. If the engineers belong to an agency or a freelancer, you need oversight, and oversight is part-time work.
| Signal | Points to fractional | Points to full-time |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the code | An agency, freelancer or one outsourced developer | Engineers on your own payroll |
| Stage | Before funding, or validating a first version | After funding, with a hiring plan |
| How often hard technical calls come up | A few times a month | Every week, often every day |
| What you need most | A plan, a review, someone to check a vendor | Someone to manage, hire and own the system |
| Is technology the product itself | No, it supports the business | Yes, it is what customers pay for |
What a fractional CTO should hand you in the first month
Part-time help is easy to waste, because meetings feel productive. Ask for documents instead. By the end of the first month you should hold these, in writing:
- An architecture review: what exists or is proposed, what is risky, and what to fix first.
- A roadmap sized to your budget and team, with what is in version one and what waits.
- Build-vs-buy decisions for the big pieces, such as payments, booking or CRM, with reasons.
- A vendor assessment: if an agency or freelancer is building, whether their scope, estimate and code hold up.
- An access list: every account, repository, domain and hosting service, and confirmation that each is in the company's name.
- A working process: how work is planned, reviewed and released, and how you see progress.
- A short list of decisions only you can make, with a recommendation for each.
How I work as a fractional CTO
I have spent 8+ years in software. I am CTO at Devmine and a Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO and A-CSPO), so planning and running engineering work is my day job. As a fractional CTO I do architecture and code reviews, development roadmaps, build-vs-buy decisions, and oversight of the agencies, freelancers or new teams building for you.
It is priced in one of two ways: a fixed-scope engagement, such as a single architecture review, or a monthly retainer for ongoing oversight. There is no published price because the work varies, so tell me what you are deciding and I will quote it. If you also need the app built, my fixed packages cover that separately, and my post on freelancers, agencies and technical leads compares who should do the building.
Questions
- Can a fractional CTO become our full-time CTO later?
- Sometimes, but plan for a handover instead. A good fractional CTO documents the architecture, accounts and process so a full-time hire can take over without starting again.
- Do I need a CTO at all before I have an app?
- You need technical judgement before you spend on a build, not necessarily a CTO. A fixed-scope review of your plan or a vendor's quote is often enough at that stage.
Sannan Malik is a software architect and product builder with 8+ years in software, CEO of Alpha Notic FZC and a Certified Scrum Product Owner. He builds mobile apps and business software for companies in the UAE, UK and US.
