Offer
Fractional CTO: technical leadership by the hour, no full-time hire
Your company has no IT department, and it still has to make technical calls every week: which tool, which vendor, how much risk is sitting in the code, who gets hired as the first engineer. A fractional CTO takes that on for a few hours a week instead of a full salary, and without the weeks a full-time hire takes to reach a first day.
What a fractional CTO does at DMello Advisory
- Architecture and vendor decisions. Which tool, which platform, which vendor fits the budget, the team, and the next two years.
- Code review and quality control for your own team or for an outside agency, before a mistake reaches production.
- Build-versus-buy calls, before money goes into a solution you will replace in a year.
- The first technical hire. Job profile, interview questions, the decision at the end.
The background: eighteen years building systems inside Intel, HP, Rackspace, Phoenix Contact and BioNTech, plus an AWS Solutions Architect certification, an MBA and an MSc in Embedded Systems. The same judgment large companies put a whole department behind, by the hour instead.
Why this works: three receipts
At HP, a three-year backlog was cleared in five weeks, a 90% reduction in effort, by automating seven manual steps. At BioNTech, a dashboard is used by more than 35 people, and each one has saved ten hours a month with it, every month since.
A consultancy quoted €40,000 for a roadmap (client anonymized). The same roadmap was implemented in a day, not just planned. That is the gap between a slide and a running system, and it is exactly what a fractional CTO who still builds can close.
How the engagement works
Most engagements run around three hours a day with one client, either as a single-client arrangement or as an ongoing retainer. Which shape fits you is a question for the first call; there is deliberately no fixed monthly package, because every company's need is different.
Prerequisite: none. A first call is enough.
Price set by scope on the free first call · typically around 3 hours a day with one client · single-client arrangement or ongoing retainer, shape agreed on the call
What it is not
- Not a staffing agency. You work directly with me, not through a layer of account managers.
- Not a full-time hire. Remote, predictable, no payroll overhead and no notice period.
- Not slideware. The engagement ends in a decision or a running system, never only a report.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO handles a company's technical leadership for part of the week instead of full time: architecture and vendor decisions, code review, build-versus-buy calls, and the first technical hire. The company gets the judgment of an experienced technical leader without a full salary and without the weeks a full-time hire takes to start.
What is the difference between a fractional CTO and an interim CTO?
An interim CTO usually bridges a specific gap, often full time and for a fixed period, until a permanent hire is found. A fractional CTO works part-time on an ongoing basis, alongside other clients, as a standing arrangement rather than a stopgap.
What are fractional CTO services, and who are they for?
Fractional CTO services cover the recurring technical decisions a growing company needs but cannot yet justify a full-time executive for: picking tools and vendors, reviewing code, deciding build versus buy, and hiring the first engineers. They fit companies from about five to two hundred people with no in-house IT department.
What does a fractional CTO cost at DMello Advisory?
The price depends on scope. Most engagements run around three hours a day with one client, as a single-client arrangement or an ongoing retainer. The exact shape is set on the first call, which is free.
How fast can a fractional CTO start?
After the first call, usually within the same week. There is no notice period from a previous employer to wait out and no multi-week hiring process to run.
Does a fractional CTO replace an in-house IT department?
No, and that is the point: a company of five to two hundred people rarely needs a whole department, it needs one person making the important calls and staying close to delivery. For the delivery itself, we can build alongside you directly, for example through a Build Sprint.
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