[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":282},["ShallowReactive",2],{"insight-\u002Finsights\u002Fwhat-is-a-fractional-cto":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":170,"date":270,"description":271,"extension":272,"meta":273,"navigation":274,"path":275,"readingTime":276,"seo":277,"seoTitle":278,"stem":279,"updated":280,"__hash__":281},"insights\u002Finsights\u002Fwhat-is-a-fractional-cto.md","What is a fractional CTO? (And does your startup or SME need one?)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":258},"minimark",[9,13,21,26,33,72,75,79,82,109,113,116,119,123,126,148,151,155,158,178,181,185,188,208,211,215,241,245],[10,11,12],"p",{},"If you’ve ever nodded along to a developer’s explanation without really understanding it, or signed off a quote you couldn’t properly judge, this one’s for you.",[10,14,15,16,20],{},"A ",[17,18,19],"strong",{},"fractional CTO"," is an experienced technology leader who works with your business part-time. You get the thinking, decisions and oversight of a Chief Technology Officer, but for a few days a month (or a day or two a week) instead of full-time. It’s the same idea as a part-time finance director: senior expertise, in proportion to what you actually need.",[22,23,25],"h2",{"id":24},"what-does-a-cto-actually-do","What does a CTO actually do?",[10,27,28,29,32],{},"“CTO” sounds like it means “the person who writes the code”. In reality, the role is mostly about ",[17,30,31],{},"decisions and direction",":",[34,35,36,48,54,60,66],"ul",{},[37,38,39,42,43,47],"li",{},[17,40,41],{},"Deciding what to build"," (and just as importantly, what ",[44,45,46],"em",{},"not"," to build).",[37,49,50,53],{},[17,51,52],{},"Choosing the approach",": custom software, an off-the-shelf product, or a bit of both.",[37,55,56,59],{},[17,57,58],{},"Hiring and managing"," developers, agencies and freelancers, and knowing whether they’re doing a good job.",[37,61,62,65],{},[17,63,64],{},"Keeping things safe and sustainable",": security, backups, costs, and avoiding systems that need rebuilding in two years.",[37,67,68,71],{},[17,69,70],{},"Translating"," between the business and the technical team, in both directions.",[10,73,74],{},"A fractional CTO does all of that, just in a part-time shape.",[22,76,78],{"id":77},"who-is-a-fractional-cto-for","Who is a fractional CTO for?",[10,80,81],{},"In my experience, it tends to suit four kinds of business:",[83,84,85,91,97,103],"ol",{},[37,86,87,90],{},[17,88,89],{},"Non-technical founders"," with a product idea who need someone trustworthy to turn it into a plan, and to keep the people building it honest.",[37,92,93,96],{},[17,94,95],{},"Startups around funding",", either preparing for investment or just past it, where investors are suddenly asking about architecture, security and scalability.",[37,98,99,102],{},[17,100,101],{},"SMEs that rely on suppliers",": you have an agency, a freelancer or a small dev team, but nobody senior enough to challenge their estimates or sense-check their work.",[37,104,105,108],{},[17,106,107],{},"Businesses recovering from a bad project",": the last build ran over, and you want a safe pair of hands for the next one.",[22,110,112],{"id":111},"fractional-cto-vs-full-time-cto","Fractional CTO vs full-time CTO",[10,114,115],{},"A full-time CTO is a big commitment: a six-figure salary in the UK, plus benefits, equity and recruitment costs, and it can take months to find the right person. That’s the right call once your technology is complex enough, and your business is big enough, to keep them busy five days a week.",[10,117,118],{},"Before that point, a fractional CTO gives you most of the value for a fraction of the cost. And if you do eventually hire a full-time CTO, a fractional one can help you write the job spec, interview candidates and handle the handover.",[22,120,122],{"id":121},"fractional-cto-vs-software-agency","Fractional CTO vs software agency",[10,124,125],{},"This one trips people up. They’re not alternatives; they do different jobs.",[34,127,128,139],{},[37,129,130,131,134,135,138],{},"An ",[17,132,133],{},"agency"," sells you ",[44,136,137],{},"delivery",". They build what’s in the brief.",[37,140,15,141,143,144,147],{},[17,142,19],{}," works ",[44,145,146],{},"for you",". They help decide what the brief should say, whether the quote is fair, and whether what was delivered is any good.",[10,149,150],{},"The two work best together. If your agency knows you have technical leadership on your side, you tend to get better work and fewer surprises.",[22,152,154],{"id":153},"what-does-it-cost","What does it cost?",[10,156,157],{},"It depends on how much time you need. Typical shapes are:",[34,159,160,166,172],{},[37,161,162,165],{},[17,163,164],{},"Advisory",": a few hours a month for a regular check-in and on-call questions.",[37,167,168,171],{},[17,169,170],{},"Fractional CTO",": a regular weekly rhythm, often one or two days.",[37,173,174,177],{},[17,175,176],{},"Hands-on \u002F interim",": a focused period where your CTO also builds or turns around something specific.",[10,179,180],{},"Because you’re paying for time rather than a salary, pension, equity and recruitment fees, it’s usually a small fraction of a full-time hire. Any good fractional CTO should give you a clear figure after a short conversation about your situation, not a vague “it depends”.",[22,182,184],{"id":183},"how-to-tell-if-you-need-one","How to tell if you need one",[10,186,187],{},"Ask yourself:",[34,189,190,196,199,202,205],{},[37,191,192,193],{},"Do I feel confident judging a technical quote or timeline? ",[44,194,195],{},"(If not, you may want a second opinion.)",[37,197,198],{},"Is there one person who’s the only one who understands how our system works?",[37,200,201],{},"Are we about to make a decision (a rebuild, a platform choice, a big hire) that’s expensive to get wrong?",[37,203,204],{},"Are investors, partners or customers starting to ask technical questions I can’t answer?",[37,206,207],{},"Do I want to use AI in the business but don’t know where it would actually help?",[10,209,210],{},"If you answered yes to a couple of those, a conversation with a fractional CTO is probably worth an hour of your time.",[22,212,214],{"id":213},"what-to-look-for","What to look for",[34,216,217,223,229,235],{},[37,218,219,222],{},[17,220,221],{},"They’ve built things."," Advice from someone who has shipped real software is better than advice from someone who’s only managed it.",[37,224,225,228],{},[17,226,227],{},"They explain things clearly."," If you can’t follow what they’re saying in the first call, that’s a red flag.",[37,230,231,234],{},[17,232,233],{},"They’ll tell you “no”."," A good one will talk you out of work you don’t need.",[37,236,237,240],{},[17,238,239],{},"Clear terms."," You should own your code, your accounts and your data from day one.",[22,242,244],{"id":243},"want-to-talk-it-through","Want to talk it through?",[10,246,247,248,252,253,257],{},"I work as a ",[249,250,19],"a",{"href":251},"\u002Fservices\u002Ffractional-cto"," for startups and growing businesses, in London and across the UK. If you’d like a no-obligation chat about whether it would help, ",[249,254,256],{"href":255},"\u002Fcontact?topic=fractional","get in touch"," and tell me what’s on your mind.",{"title":259,"searchDepth":260,"depth":260,"links":261},"",2,[262,263,264,265,266,267,268,269],{"id":24,"depth":260,"text":25},{"id":77,"depth":260,"text":78},{"id":111,"depth":260,"text":112},{"id":121,"depth":260,"text":122},{"id":153,"depth":260,"text":154},{"id":183,"depth":260,"text":184},{"id":213,"depth":260,"text":214},{"id":243,"depth":260,"text":244},"2026-10-22","A plain-English guide to fractional CTOs for non-technical founders — what they do, what they cost, and how to know when it’s the right move.","md",{},true,"\u002Finsights\u002Fwhat-is-a-fractional-cto",7,{"title":5,"description":271},"What Is a Fractional CTO? A Guide for UK Startups & SMEs","insights\u002Fwhat-is-a-fractional-cto",null,"Y5rwuisG_o09WVU3eSQdhiTQ04FHWoqBWZp5Ssgd8Nk",1793821334929]