You Don’t Need a Full-Time CTO to Make Better Technology Decisions
A growing company makes a lot of technology decisions. Which software to buy. Which developer to hire. Whether the cloud bill is reasonable, and whether the system is secure. Most small businesses make these calls with nobody on staff who has made them before.
Large companies hire a chief technology officer, or CTO, for this. Most small businesses don’t need one full time and can’t justify the cost. There are other ways to get that experience when you need it.
Written for Owners and founders of small and growing companies, and leaders of smaller public agencies, making technology decisions without a technical executive.
The short answer
- A CTO’s main job is making technology decisions that fit the business, then making sure they happen.
- A full-time CTO makes sense when software is your product, or you have several developers to lead.
- A fractional CTO works part time, often a few days a month, for a share of the cost.
- An agency builds software. It has a reason to recommend building, so get an independent view on big decisions.
- Many small companies do best with part-time leadership plus a separate team doing the building.
What a CTO actually does
The CTO is responsible for the company’s technology. In a small company, that means making sure it serves the business.
In practice, that means the right tools, a sensible plan, developers who deliver, and no expensive surprises.
A good CTO translates in both directions. They explain technical choices to owners in business terms: cost, risk and time. They also explain the business to developers, so the team builds the right thing.
Seven decisions where experience pays off
Small companies most often pay for missing technical experience in these areas.
- Technology planningWhat to build, buy or fix this year, in what order, and what it will cost. Without a plan, money goes to whoever asks loudest.
- Vendor selectionComparing software products and development firms, reading proposals and contracts, and spotting what’s missing. A poor choice can lock you in for years.
- Software architectureThe basic structure of your systems: what connects to what and where the data lives. Early structural choices are the hardest to change later.
- Managing developersSetting priorities, reviewing work and knowing whether the team is doing well. Without technical experience, it’s hard to tell a project is off track until it is.
- Cloud costsHosting bills grow quietly. An experienced eye often finds servers nobody uses, oversized services and missing budget alerts.
- SecurityWho can access what, how data is protected and what happens after a breach. Much easier to get right before something goes wrong.
- Product roadmapsDeciding what the product does next based on customers and the business, and what to say no to.
If your cloud bill is the immediate worry, our guide to reducing AWS costs covers where spending usually hides.
Full-time CTO vs fractional CTO vs development agency
The biggest difference is how much of a senior person you get, and whose interests they represent.
| Full-time CTOEvery day | Fractional CTOA few days a month | Development agencyWhile a project runs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | A senior technology leader on staff | A senior technology leader, part time | A team that designs and builds software |
| How you pay | An executive salary, benefits and often equity | A monthly fee for an agreed amount of time | A project price or an hourly rate |
| Independent advice | Yes. They work only for you | Yes, if they don’t also sell you the build | Limited. They earn by building |
| Builds the software | Leads the team that does | Usually not. Guides whoever builds it | Yes |
| Best when | Software is your product, and you have or need a team of several engineers | You need senior judgment a few days a month: plans, vendors, reviews, hiring | You know what to build and need people to build it |
| Main risk | Costly, and hard to hire well without technical help | Limited hours, so less available in a crisis | Advice leans toward building more |
Many small companies combine two: a fractional CTO to decide and check, and an agency or freelancers to build.
Which one fits your business?
Hire a full-time CTO when
Software is the product you sell, or you have a team of several engineers who need daily leadership. Decisions come up every day, and someone has to own them. Hiring the right person is hard without technical help, so many companies use a fractional CTO to run that search.
Use a fractional CTO when
You need senior judgment, but not every day. You’re choosing between vendors, reviewing a big proposal, planning next year’s technology spending, managing an outside team, or worried about security or costs. A few days a month covers most of that for a small company.
Hire a development agency when
You know what you need built and want a team to build it. A good agency gives sound advice too. It also earns money by building, so for large decisions, especially whether to build at all, an independent second opinion is worth having.
Or combine them
A common setup for small companies is a fractional CTO who decides and checks, and an agency or freelancers who build. The CTO writes down what’s needed, reviews proposals, checks the work and keeps the business in control of its code and accounts.
We do both kinds of work, advising and building, so we have a reason to say this carefully. Be clear with anyone you hire about which role they’re playing at any moment.
What working with a fractional CTO looks like
Most engagements follow a similar shape. The first month is mostly listening.
- Learn
Understand the business, then review systems, vendors, costs and security. Write down the biggest risks.
- Plan
Agree what to fix, buy or build this year, in what order and at what cost.
- Guide
A few days a month: review work, join key meetings, help hire, answer questions as they come up.
- Hand over
When the company is ready, help hire a full-time leader and pass on what’s been learned.
Most fractional CTOs charge a monthly fee for an agreed amount of time. Agree the hours, how quickly they’ll respond when something breaks, and what they’ll put in writing.
How to choose a fractional CTO
Questions to ask before you hire one
- Have you led technology for a company, with a team and a budget?
- Do you also sell development work? If so, how do you keep your advice independent?
- How many hours a month, and how fast can you respond in an emergency?
- Can you explain a technical decision to me in plain terms? (Ask them to try one.)
- What will you have written down for us after the first month?
- How will we know this is working?
For public-sector teams
Smaller agencies and local governments face the same decisions, usually through procurement. An independent technical adviser can help write clearer requirements, compare vendor proposals on equal terms, and check that a contractor’s plan matches what the agency needs.
Check your procurement rules first. An adviser who helps write a solicitation may not be allowed to bid on the work that follows.
How Yippify helps
Yippify provides technical leadership on a part-time basis: technology plans, vendor and proposal reviews, architecture decisions, cloud cost and security reviews, and guidance for your developers or outside team. We also build software, and we say plainly when we’re advising and when we’re quoting.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is an experienced technology leader who works with a company part time, often a few days a month. They handle the same decisions a full-time CTO would, such as technology plans, vendor choices, architecture, security and guiding developers, for a share of the cost.
How much time does a fractional CTO spend with a company?
It varies with the company’s needs. Many work a few days a month, with more time during a big decision, a hire or a project launch. Agree the hours, the response time for urgent problems and what gets written down, before you start.
Can a fractional CTO manage our developers or our agency?
Yes. Setting priorities, reviewing work and checking that a project is on track are common parts of the role, whether the developers are employees, freelancers or an outside company.
When should we hire a full-time CTO instead?
When software is your product and you have, or need, a team of several engineers to lead every day. At that point technology decisions are constant, and a part-time leader can’t keep up. A fractional CTO can help you hire the right full-time person.
Making technology decisions without a technical leader?
Tell us what you’re deciding and who builds your software today. We’ll tell you how much help you actually need, from a single review to a few days a month.
- Senior judgment, sized to your company
- Decisions written down in plain terms
- Clear about advising versus building
A rough description is enough to start. No specification needed.