What is a fCTO? (fractional CTO)

A fractional CTO (fCTO) is your on-demand technical co-founder—someone who helps founders solve problems quickly and practically when you can't find or afford a full-time technical co-founder.

Startups are always racing against the clock with limited funding, limited time, and a lean team. Every tech decision needs to drive ROI and get you to revenue positive faster. That's where a fractional CTO comes in.

I apply a "low effort to high-impact" filter to all decisions, assessments, and recommendations. This approach provides founders with the tools to balance limited resources and find stage-relevant solutions that work for where you are right now—not where you hope to be in two years.

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When do you need a fractional CTO?

You seek out a fractional CTO when you can not find or afford a full-time, salaried and equity-motivated technical co-founder. When you need point solutions, an outside perspective, and options—without the full-time commitment.

As a serial founder (Techstars 2018), I know the pain of having to make decisions based on limited information, time, and resources. I've been in the trenches, and I know what works—and what doesn't—at different stages of a startup's journey.

How I help founders

I offer three ways to engage, depending on what you need:

When your v1 is ready, you own the decisions and the code. No handoffs, no surprises—just a working product and the knowledge to keep building.

What makes this different?

I'm not just an advisor—I'm a coder at heart. When needed, I roll up my sleeves and dig in: configure cloud providers, debug CI/CD processes, upgrade libraries, integrate auth providers, and yes—write code.

The connection between people and tech is the domain of the CTO, and it's an important perspective for startups. I bring real experience building systems and solutions, not just theory. Every recommendation is filtered through the lens of: Will this help you get to revenue faster? Is this stage-relevant? What's the ROI?

Beyond the basics

As you grow, the challenges get more complex. I also help with:

• SOC2 prep and security audits—When you've done the foundational work, preparing for compliance becomes clearer
• Tech stack optimization—Reducing cloud costs (I've helped companies cut AWS/GCP bills by 80%)
• Team scaling—Better job descriptions come from understanding the ROI of tech decisions
• Architecture decisions—From MVP to scale, making choices that work for your stage

The simplest sign this approach is working? Your job descriptions get shorter and clearer. The better you understand the ROI of tech decisions, the more precise your hiring becomes—whether via Upwork, Freelancer, or full-time developers.

Ready to get started? Let's talk about which approach fits your needs.

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