Startup CTO

A startup CTO makes the decisions that are easy to get wrong and expensive to undo: which technology stack to build on, when to build versus buy, how to structure your first engineering hires, and how to document your architecture for investors. At the earliest stages, they are often also hands-on — writing code, reviewing PRs, and setting technical standards that the team inherits. Our Startup CTO engagement covers all of this, scaled to your stage.

The terms overlap, but the emphasis differs. Fractional CTO typically means a part-time executive embedded in your leadership team — recurring operational presence, board meetings, team management. Startup CTO services covers a broader range of depth: from structured advisory programs (deliverables, fixed timeline) through full fractional embedding. We match the engagement model to your actual stage — advisory is right pre-seed; embedded fractional CTO is right when you are scaling engineering toward Series A.

Pricing follows our engagement ladder, scoped to your stage. The $2,000 Technology Health Check is the entry; advisory is from $2,750/month; embedded fractional-CTO leadership is from $8,000/month (scaling with days per week); and end-to-end MVP delivery — fractional CTO plus developers at $50–$100/hour — typically runs $30K–$150K. Compare to a full-time CTO at $230K–$380K in total comp — or a bad early architecture decision costing $200K+ to undo at Series A. These are typical averages for planning only — actual cost is assessed per project and scope, and is not a guaranteed price. We share specifics on the first call.

Founders who get structured technical guidance before committing to a stack spend 40% less Series A engineering budget on rework. The decisions that are hardest to fix — monolith vs. microservices, cloud provider, auth architecture, data model — are the ones you make in the first 90 days. Early guidance does not slow you down; it stops you from building yourself into a corner.

That is exactly what this service is for. We function as your technical co-pilot: translating business goals into architecture decisions, evaluating vendors and candidates you cannot assess on your own, and ensuring your technology story is coherent before investors test it. We do not replace a future technical hire — we get you to the point where you can make that hire confidently.

Pure advisory fees typically do not qualify for SR&ED on their own, but the engineering work that flows from the engagement — novel integrations, custom architecture, systematic technical experimentation — often does. IRAP grants can cover a broader scope of advisory activities when the engagement involves mentoring your engineering team or supporting technical development projects. We are not SR&ED or IRAP specialists, but we structure our work to support a claim and strongly recommend pairing with a qualified funding consultant for eligibility questions.

Our standard model is fixed-fee — predictable cost, no dilution. For very early-stage startups with constrained capital, hybrid arrangements (reduced fee plus a small equity stake) are considered case-by-case. We are transparent about all terms in the first conversation.

You own all artifacts — architecture decision records, roadmap, hiring plan, investor documentation. Options at the end of a program: continue with another sprint, transition to an ongoing fractional CTO retainer, or execute independently. No lock-in by design. Our measure of success is leaving your team stronger, not creating dependency on us.

The Technical Health Check can typically be scheduled within 1-2 weeks of first contact. A structured advisory engagement can begin within 2-3 weeks — after a 60-minute discovery session to confirm fit and scope the right engagement depth. We do not take every engagement that comes in; the fit conversation matters.