When Do You Need a Fractional CTO?
TL;DR: You need a fractional CTO when facing: fundraising preparation (investor due diligence), scaling engineering teams (5+ developers), major technical decisions (architecture, vendors), or technical leadership gaps (non-technical founders, CTO departure). Most common at pre-seed to Series B stage when full-time CTO cost isn't justified.
10 Signs You Need a Fractional CTO
1. Fundraising Preparation
Investors are asking technical questions you can't answer, or you need tech documentation for due diligence.
2. Technical Bottleneck
Important decisions are delayed because no one has authority or expertise to make them.
3. Scaling the Team
You're growing from 2-3 developers to 10+ and need structure, processes, and senior hiring.
4. Architecture Decisions
Major technical choices (replatform, microservices, cloud migration) with long-term impact.
5. Build vs Buy Dilemma
Evaluating whether to build custom solutions or buy/integrate existing platforms.
6. Technical Debt Crisis
Development velocity has slowed significantly due to accumulated shortcuts.
7. Security/Compliance Gap
Enterprise customers or regulations require security certifications you don't have.
8. CTO Departure
Your CTO is leaving and you need interim leadership while recruiting a replacement.
9. Non-Technical Leadership
The founding team lacks technical depth but is building a technology product.
10. Vendor Negotiation
Major platform/tool decisions where you need technical due diligence and negotiation.
By Company Stage
| Stage | When Fractional CTO Helps | Typical Engagement |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | Technical validation, MVP architecture, first developer hire | 1-2 days/month |
| Seed | Team building, process setup, investor tech due diligence | 2-4 days/month |
| Series A | Scale architecture, senior hiring, vendor strategy | 1 day/week |
| Series B | Platform decisions, security/compliance, M&A prep | 1-2 days/week |
| Post-Series B | Usually need full-time CTO; fractional for specific projects only | Project-based |
Quick Self-Assessment
Answer YES or NO to each question:
- ?Are you preparing for fundraising in the next 6 months?
- ?Do technical decisions sit unresolved for weeks?
- ?Is your engineering team growing beyond 5 people?
- ?Do you struggle to evaluate developer candidates or work quality?
- ?Is technical debt slowing down feature development?
3+ YES answers: A fractional CTO would likely provide significant value.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do you need a fractional CTO?
You need a fractional CTO when: preparing for fundraising, scaling engineering teams, facing major technical decisions, or filling a technical leadership gap. Most common at pre-seed to Series B when full-time CTO cost isn't justified.
What stage startup needs a fractional CTO?
Fractional CTOs are most valuable pre-seed to Series B. Pre-seed/Seed: product-market fit and initial scaling. Series A: team building and processes. Series B: optimising for scale. Post-Series B typically needs full-time leadership.
How do I know if I need a CTO vs a senior developer?
You need a CTO when decisions involve strategy, stakeholder communication, team structure, architecture at scale, or vendor negotiations. Senior developers excel at execution; CTOs excel at strategy and leadership.
Can non-technical founders succeed without a CTO?
In early stages, yes. But eventually you need technical leadership when: you struggle to evaluate developers, tech choices are made without business context, debt accumulates, or investors ask questions you can't answer.
Not Sure If It's Time?
A 30-minute conversation can help you assess whether a fractional CTO is right for your current situation.