Technical strategy and roadmap
A roadmap your team can actually execute and your board can actually read. Sequenced by what unblocks revenue, not by what is technically interesting.
// fractional cto
Senior technical leadership, without the full-time hire.
A fractional CTO is an experienced engineering leader who takes the role part-time and owns the outcome. Strategy, architecture, hiring, and the board conversation, at the right scope for your stage.
What the engagement covers.
Architecture decisions that hold up
The handful of choices that are expensive to reverse, made deliberately: build versus buy, where to spend reliability budget, and what to leave deliberately simple.
Hiring and team design
Who to hire next, how to interview for it, and how to structure the team so it ships sustainably as it grows. Including the first engineering manager.
Investor and board fluency
Technical diligence, board materials, and the honest version of the engineering story. The translation layer between what the team is doing and what investors need to hear.
Newer to the idea? Start with what a fractional CTO actually does.
// questions
- What is a fractional CTO?
- A fractional CTO is an experienced engineering leader who takes on the chief technology officer role part-time, typically one to three days a week, across one or more companies. You get senior technical judgment, strategy, and accountability without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive hire.
- When does a company need a fractional CTO?
- Most often at the seed to Series B stage: there are engineers shipping but no senior technical leader, the founder is making architecture and hiring calls outside their depth, or a full-time CTO is not yet justified or not yet findable. A fractional CTO covers the gap and can help define and hire the eventual full-time role.
- How is a fractional CTO different from a consultant or an agency?
- A consultant produces recommendations. A fractional CTO owns outcomes. I sit inside your team, make decisions, are accountable for them, and stay long enough to see them through. The goal is a stronger engineering organization that does not depend on me, not a deck.
- How much does a fractional CTO cost?
- Engagements are scoped by time commitment and length rather than a fixed price, usually a recurring monthly retainer tied to a set number of days per week. It is a fraction of a full-time CTO's total compensation, with no equity refresh or severance overhead. Reach out for a specific quote.
- How many engagements do you take at once?
- A deliberately small number. M. Littlehale & Co. is run as a small practice so each client gets a leader who is substantively involved, not a name on a roster.