Fractional CTO · consulting and architecture
A fractional CTO who also writes the code
You need someone to decide what to build, what to buy, whom to hire and what to stop doing, and to be accountable for it. Not a full-time executive salary, and not a consultant who has not shipped in years. A senior engineer who runs production systems today, a few hours a week, at a published rate.
Tech lead / architect, hourly: $90/hr
Fractional CTO services give a company senior technical leadership for a fraction of the week: architecture and vendor decisions, hiring and reviewing engineers, technical due diligence, cost control and a roadmap the board can follow. Ours is delivered by an engineer who still builds and operates production systems, at $90 an hour, usually starting from a one-week architecture review.
The decisions that are waiting
Typical situations (not client quotes)
- Our developers are good, but nobody is deciding. Every vendor pitch sounds right.
- An investor wants technical due diligence and we do not have anyone senior enough to answer them.
- We need to hire two engineers and I cannot tell a strong candidate from a confident one.
- The cloud bill doubled and nobody can explain why.
Between a founder who is not technical and a team of developers there is a gap: the person who turns business goals into technical decisions and takes responsibility for them. A full-time CTO is the right answer at a certain size; before that, the role is often filled by the loudest vendor or the most recent blog post.
The risk with most fractional CTOs is distance from the work. Advice from someone who has not deployed anything in five years tends to be expensive and generic. We keep the role tied to the code: the same person who recommends the architecture can review the pull request.
How we work as your fractional CTO
A fixed number of hours a week or a month, agreed in writing, with a standing meeting and a written decision log. Typical scope: architecture and build-versus-buy decisions, vendor and contract review, hiring plans and technical interviews, engineering process (releases, reviews, incidents), cloud cost control, security basics and due diligence for investors or acquirers. When a decision needs proof, we prototype it.
The standards we bring are the ones we run on our own platform: every Guiadalajara release backs up the database before anything changes, blue/green releases and infrastructure written as code, with written decision records behind every structural change. When we restructured our own infrastructure, in September 2026 we cut our own cloud bill by about two thirds. Most engagements start with a one-week architecture review, because the first job of a CTO is to know what they are responsible for.
- Weekly or biweekly standing meeting with a written decision log
- Architecture, build-versus-buy and vendor decisions, with reasons
- Hiring plan, job descriptions and technical interviews
- Engineering process: releases, code review, incidents, on-call
- Cloud cost review and a monthly number you can explain
- Security basics and compliance checklist for your industry
- Technical due diligence support for investors, lenders or acquirers
What you get · Fractional CTO
Decision log
Every structural decision written down with the options considered and why. Your successor will thank you.
Roadmap and budget
A twelve-month technical roadmap with costs, dependencies and the hires it needs.
Hiring kit
Role definitions, interview rubric and the technical interviews themselves.
Cost and risk report
Monthly: what you spend on cloud and tools, what is at risk, what changed.
Due diligence binder
Architecture, security, process and ownership documented for an outside reviewer.
How we work · Fractional CTO
Architecture review
One week to understand the system, the team and the money. Written report with risks ranked by impact.
1 week, $2,500
Agree the role
Hours per month, standing meeting, decision rights and the first quarter's priorities, in writing.
1 week
Run the quarter
Meetings, decisions, interviews, reviews and the monthly cost and risk report.
quarterly
Hand over or scale
When you are ready for a full-time CTO, we help you hire them and hand over the decision log.
when you choose
Proof · Fractional CTO
The person in the role builds and operates production systems today: the platform we run ourselves and the client systems we can name. Advice stays attached to code.
- every Guiadalajara release backs up the database before anything changes — Source: Our own platform (Guiadalajara), in production, checked October 16, 2026
- in September 2026 we cut our own cloud bill by about two thirds — Source: Our cloud provider’s invoices, checked September 25, 2026
- no PayPal charge is ever left without its booking: the booking is saved before the charge and an automatic reconciliation closes the gaps — Source: Client case, published with permission, checked October 16, 2026
Own platform
Guiadalajara
Our own platform for local businesses in Guadalajara: marketplace and directory, appointment booking by business type, point of sale and CFDI e-invoicing, on web and mobile apps.
See the case →
Transportation
VIP Transportation
Luxury private transport in Puerto Vallarta, booked in 6 steps with not a single payment ever falling through the cracks.
See the case →
Pricing · Fractional CTO
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Tech lead / architect, hourly | $90/hr |
| Architecture review (1 week) | $2,500 |
Fractional CTO engagements are a fixed block of hours per month at the published architect rate, agreed in writing and billed monthly in US dollars, net 15. Full rate card on the pricing page.
What we build with
- Architecture decision records
- TypeScript / Node
- PostgreSQL
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
- AWS / Google Cloud / Linode
- CI/CD
Questions · Fractional CTO
What are your fractional CTO rates?
$90 an hour, published, in a fixed monthly block of hours we agree in writing. A typical engagement is between twenty and forty hours a month; the first week is usually the $2,500 architecture review.
How is a fractional CTO different from a consultant?
Accountability and proximity to the work. A fractional CTO owns decisions over time and answers for them in the standing meeting; ours also reviews code and can prototype, so the advice is tested against your actual system.
Can you help us hire engineers?
Yes. We write the role, run the technical interviews with you and give you a written assessment of each candidate. If the right answer is a dedicated engineer from us while you hire, we say so, and you can take it or not.
Do you do technical due diligence for investors?
Yes, on either side: preparing your company for a review, or reviewing a company you plan to invest in or acquire. The output is a written report a non-technical reader can follow.
Will you push us toward your own development services?
Our recommendations are written with the options and the reasons, and you can take them to any vendor. When we think our team is the right fit we will say so, with a fixed price, and when it is not we will say that too.
How long do engagements last?
The minimum term is set in the proposal; after it, month to month with thirty days' notice. A fractional CTO often stays until a full-time one is hired; we help with that hire and hand over the decision log.
Related
Which technical decision has been waiting the longest?
Start with a one-week review. You get a written read of the system and a proposal for the role, or an honest note that you do not need one yet.