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ENGINEERING · FRACTIONAL CTO

Fractional CTO services for startups

Fractional CTO services give your startup a part-time technical leader who owns architecture, hiring, vendors and the roadmap, without a full-time salary. Scale-ups use the same role as an interim CTO between hires.

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Led by Thanos GkanasCo-Founder, engineering

The drawing shows a month with one CTO day a week and, under it, the decisions made on those days, with one build-or-buy call still open.

CTO as a service suits the stage where technical decisions matter but a full-time CTO would be early: often before a raise, just after one, or when a growing team needs direction. We take the role for the days you agree, join your planning, make or review the big technical calls and answer investors' questions. It is part of our software development consulting, for startups worldwide. New to the role? Read "What is a fractional CTO?".

01SOUND FAMILIAR?

Signs you need a part-time CTO

These are the moments when technical leadership starts to matter more than technical hands.

  • SYMPTOM 01

    Investors keep asking technical questions we cannot answer

    Usually means: You need someone who can explain the architecture, risks and roadmap with authority.

  • SYMPTOM 02

    Our developers are good, but nobody owns the big decisions

    Usually means: The team needs direction and priorities, not more hands.

  • SYMPTOM 03

    We pay an agency and cannot tell if the work is good

    Usually means: You need an independent senior reviewer on your side of the table.

  • SYMPTOM 04

    We need our first engineers and do not know what good looks like

    Usually means: You need help defining roles, running technical interviews and judging candidates.

  • SYMPTOM 05

    Our cloud bill and our tool list keep growing

    Usually means: Nobody is weighing build or buy decisions against cost and the roadmap.

  • SYMPTOM 06

    Our CTO left and the next one is months away

    Usually means: You need an interim CTO to hold the role, keep the team moving and help hire the replacement.

Led by Thanos GkanasCo-Founder, engineering

Not sure how much CTO time you need? Tell us your stage and team size, and we will suggest a starting shape.

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02WHAT WE DO

What our fractional CTO services include

A fractional chief technology officer covers the decisions a CTO owns, scaled to the time your stage needs.

  • Architecture and technical decisions

    We review the current system, set the direction and make or approve the calls that are hard to reverse: the data model, hosting, core frameworks and security approach. Each decision is written down with its reasons, so the team can follow it without waiting for the next meeting.

  • A technical roadmap tied to the business plan

    We turn your product plan into a technical roadmap with milestones, risks and trade-offs you can explain to your board. When the plan changes, the roadmap changes with it, in writing.

  • Hiring and managing developers

    We define the roles you need, write the job descriptions, run technical interviews and help you decide. Once people join, we set up code review, planning and one-to-ones, so the team runs without a CTO in every meeting. When you need capacity faster than you can hire, team augmentation adds senior engineers alongside your own.

  • Vendor, agency and build or buy decisions

    We review agency proposals and contracts, check the work they deliver and decide with you when to build, buy or drop a tool. You get an independent senior opinion on spending that is hard to judge from outside.

  • Investor questions and technical due diligence

    We prepare the technical story for your raise, answer investors' questions and get the code, security and documentation ready for review. When you are the one buying or investing, our SaaS due diligence service assesses the other side's product.

  • Security, reliability and cost basics

    We set the basics every startup needs: access control, backups, monitoring, an incident process and a cloud bill someone reviews every month. These are the topics that come up in enterprise sales and investor reviews.

Illustration of a build-or-buy decision record, compared row by row

03IN BRIEF

How many hours a month a fractional CTO needs

Fractional CTO services usually take a few days a month, set by what the next quarter needs rather than by a fixed package. A pre-seed startup choosing its first stack and hiring its first engineer needs less time than a seed company running a team and preparing a raise. Time also rises around events: a fundraise, a major launch, a security review or a key hire. We agree the time up front and put the regular parts in the calendar, such as a weekly planning call and a review session. We also keep room for the questions that cannot wait. Every month we look at how the time was used and adjust it. If the role keeps needing more time each month, that is a sign you are ready for a full-time CTO, and we help you hire one.

Fractional CTO, interim CTO or technical consultant

A fractional CTO holds the CTO role part time for an open period. An interim CTO holds it full time or close to it for a fixed stretch, and a technical consultant solves one defined problem. Pick a fractional CTO when you need ongoing technical leadership but not a full week of it. Pick an interim CTO when your CTO has left, or a raise or acquisition needs someone in the seat every day for a few months. Pick a consultant when the question is narrow, such as choosing a cloud provider or reviewing one system. We offer all three shapes, and the same company can move between them as it grows. If you are weighing a permanent hire instead, our comparison of fractional CTO vs full-time CTO sets out the trade-offs.

How fractional CTO pricing works

Fractional CTO pricing is normally based on time: an agreed number of days or hours a month for a monthly fee, reviewed as your needs change. Some work is better priced as a fixed project, such as an architecture review or getting ready for investor due diligence. The main cost drivers are the time per month, how hands-on the role is and whether the CTO also manages people. Compared with a full-time hire, you avoid salary, benefits, equity and recruiting costs, but you also get less availability, and that is the real trade-off to weigh. Ours are quoted after a short call and set out in a written proposal, so you know the cost before any work begins. To set a quote you have against a full-time salary, use our fractional CTO cost calculator.

When a fractional CTO is the wrong fit

A fractional CTO is the wrong fit when the company needs a technical leader every day, or when the real need is more engineering hands rather than direction. If your product is the technology itself, as in deep tech or infrastructure companies, the CTO is usually a founder-level role worth filling full time. The model also fails when nobody on the team can act on the decisions between sessions: a fractional CTO sets direction, but someone still has to build. Watch for three warning signs. Decisions wait a week for the next call, the team routes every question to one person, or the CTO has no time to read the code. When those appear, add engineering capacity, increase the days or start hiring a full-time CTO. We will tell you when we see the signs, even when the answer is less work for us.

04STEP BY STEP

How a fractional CTO engagement runs

  1. 01

    Audit

    We review your system, team, vendors and roadmap, and talk to the people who build. You get a written assessment: what works, what is at risk and what the first quarter should focus on.

  2. 02

    Build

    We take the role: planning, decisions, hiring and reviews on a steady rhythm, for an agreed number of days each month. Decisions and priorities are written down where the team can find them.

  3. 03

    Ship

    When you hire a full-time CTO or the need ends, we hand over the decision log, the roadmap and the open risks. Then we help the person who takes over settle in.

05ENGAGEMENT OPTIONS

Ways to work with a fractional CTO

  • CTO advisory sessions

    A senior sounding board for specific technical decisions.

    You get

    • Architecture and stack reviews
    • Vendor and proposal reviews
    • Preparation for investor technical questions

    Typical shape

    Thanos and your founders, booked per session, as needed

    Quoted after a short call

    Ask for a quote

  • Fractional CTO

    An ongoing part-time CTO who owns the technical side with you.

    You get

    • Technical roadmap and decisions
    • Hiring and team setup
    • Regular planning and code reviews
    • Investor and board support

    Typical shape

    Thanos, a few days a month, reviewed monthly

    Quoted after a short call

    Ask for a quote

  • Interim CTO

    A near full-time CTO for a fixed period, when the seat is empty or the stakes are high.

    You get

    • Day-to-day technical leadership
    • Team management
    • Hiring your permanent CTO
    • A full handover

    Typical shape

    Most of the week, for as long as you need

    Quoted after a short call

    Ask for a quote

06WHO IT IS FOR

Who a fractional CTO is for

Most teams hire fractional CTO support at one of three moments.

  • Non-technical founders

    You need someone senior to own technology decisions, manage builders and talk to investors with you.

  • Seed-stage teams without a CTO

    You have developers or an agency, and you need direction, standards and a roadmap someone owns.

  • Companies between CTOs

    Your CTO has left or is not hired yet, and you need an interim CTO to keep the team moving.

Thanos Gkanas

07LED BY

Who your fractional CTO is

Thanos Gkanas leads engineering at BrainStormers and takes the fractional CTO role himself. He joins your planning, your tools and your team's rhythm for the days you agree.

Most technical decisions at a startup can be undone. My job is to spot the few that cannot, and slow down only for those.

Thanos GkanasCO-FOUNDER · ENGINEERING
Thanos Gkanas
Co-Founder & Head of Engineering
Thanos's profileLinkedIn

08

Related services

For a CTO and CPO pairing, add a fractional chief product officer on the product side, or see our software product development services for both under one plan.

  • Technical due diligence

    Code, architecture, security, team and scale risk, reviewed for investors and founders before a round or an acquisition.

    Thanos

  • Team augmentation

    Senior engineers who take tickets from your board, review the hard parts and plan the handover from the first week.

    Thanos

  • Fractional product manager

    A senior product lead, part time: discovery, roadmap and delivery without a full-time hire.

    Roger

  • Product and engineering

    Need product leadership too? One plan can cover the product and technology roles.

    Roger and Thanos

09

Insights on technical leadership

  • STARTUP ENGINEERINGGUIDE

    What is a fractional CTO?

    A fractional CTO owns your technical decisions part of the time. What the role covers each month, how it compares with interim and full-time CTOs, and how to find one who fits.

    Thanos Gkanas

  • CTO cost calculator

    Set the hours you need and compare a fractional CTO with a full-time hire, monthly and yearly, from the quote you have.

10FAQ

Fractional CTO questions

What do fractional CTO services include?

Fractional CTO services cover what a CTO owns, part time: architecture and technical decisions, the technical roadmap, hiring and managing developers, vendor and agency oversight, security basics and investor questions. The time is agreed per month, and the work runs on a regular rhythm of planning, reviews and decisions written down for the team.

How many hours a month does a fractional CTO work with a startup?

It depends on the stage and on what is happening. An early startup may need a few days a month for decisions and hiring, while a team preparing a raise or a launch needs more. We agree the time before starting, review it every month and change it when your needs change.

What is the difference between a fractional CTO and an interim CTO?

A fractional CTO works part time for an open-ended period, often alongside other companies. An interim CTO works full time or close to it for a fixed period. The usual reason is to fill a vacancy or see the company through a raise, a crisis or a hire. The responsibilities are similar; the time and the end date differ.

When is a startup ready to hire a fractional CTO?

You are ready when technical decisions start to carry real cost: choosing a stack, hiring the first engineers, managing an agency or answering investors. Before that point, a few advisory sessions may be enough. After it, when you need technical leadership every day, a full-time CTO is the better fit.

Can a fractional CTO help with investor technical questions and due diligence?

Yes. We prepare the technical story for your raise, answer investors' questions on calls and get the code, security and documentation ready for review. When an investor runs formal technical due diligence, we act as your technical lead through it, so the founders can stay focused on the business.

Can a fractional CTO hire and manage our developers?

Yes. We define the roles, write the job descriptions, run technical interviews and help you choose. Once people join, we set up planning, code review and one-to-ones, and manage the team for as long as you need. When you hire a full-time engineering lead, we hand that over.

How is a fractional CTO engagement priced?

We quote each fractional CTO engagement after a short call, once we know the share of time and the scope you need. The quote is set out in a written proposal before anything starts, and it changes only when we both agree to change the time. Our calculator sets a quoted fractional CTO rate against a full-time salary.

Do you work with startups across Canada?

Yes. BrainStormers is based in Toronto and works with startups wherever they are, from the GTA and the rest of Canada to teams abroad. The fractional CTO role runs through your planning meetings, your chat and your code repository, so it works the same way wherever your team sits.

Led by Thanos GkanasCo-Founder, engineering

Talk to Thanos about a fractional CTO

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NEXT STEP

Bring in a CTO

Book a 20-minute call, or tell us your stage, your team and the decisions on your desk. We reply with how much CTO time we think you need and where we would start.

You’ll talk to Thanos

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