I recently wrote about where my agency fits now that the industry is shifting under our feet. The $20-50k MVP is dead. AI tools build prototypes for free. So what do I do with 20 years of experience when the barrier to entry just dropped to zero?

One answer keeps coming up in conversations with founders in my network. They’ll say something like, “Have you thought about doing fractional work?”.

Honestly? I hadn’t, not seriously anyway. I know what a CTO does, I am one! But “fractional”? What does that even mean in practice? It sounds like you’re giving someone a fraction of leadership. Less than the whole thing. Thats probably what it is, but is that even useful?

So I did what I always do when something bugs me. I spent an ungodly amount of time reading and poking at ideas.

So what does “fractional” even mean?

A fractional CTO is exactly what it sounds like. A Chief Technology Officer who works part-time across multiple companies instead of full-time at one. But there’s some nuances here.

The “fraction” isn’t about quality, but rather time. You’re not getting less value, you’re getting focused value. Instead of 40+ hours at a single company, you might spend 10-20 hours per week with a client. One or two days. Focused on the strategic shit, not day-to-day firefighting. Ok, I’m officially intrigued. It sounds like all the fun stuff and less of the boring day-to-day.

It’s different from consulting, which tends to be project-based with defined deliverables, closer to the agency I run now. A fractional CTO embeds more deeply. They join leadership meetings, mentor the team, etc. They stick around for months or years, not just until a project wraps. It’s also different from an “interim CTO”, who’s basically a full-time temporary replacement while you search for a permanent hire. Fractional is part-time and ongoing.

But, who actually needs this?

Ok, the picture was starting to take shape. But part of me still didn’t quite “get it”. There wasn’t a clear persona I could imagine that needed this. Turns out there are three pretty distinct markets, and they need different things.

Startups

The obvious one, and a space I’ve spent a lot of time in. This fractional model has become the default for Series A and bootstrapped SaaS companies. Companies that need real technology leadership but can’t justify a $200k+ exec salary plus equity plus benefits, yada yada yada.

I don’t think this is pre-seed or idea-stage startups though. The advice there is “save your money” and find a technical co-founder instead. Good advice IMO. The sweet spot is scale-ups. Companies that have launched something, are growing, but haven’t outgrown the need for outside help.

Small and medium businesses

At first, this angle surprised me. I’ve mainly focused on the tech sector, not brick and mortar. These are established businesses, been around for years, maybe decades, that are hitting technology walls or feel the pressure to innovate on new tools (but don’t know how to).

The problems are different of course. It’s not “build from scratch.” It’s modernization. Legacy systems. Digital transformation. 65% of businesses start modernization projects, but only 10% complete them. That’s a lot of stalled initiatives. But also sounds painfully similar to unfocused feature development that startups find themselves in. SMBs also deal with compliance headaches, vendor management, and mentoring existing staff rather than hiring new ones. They need someone who can work with what’s already there, not start fresh. Makes sense really.

And this segment is growing fastest, it was projected to hit 35% adoption in 2025. By 2027, over 30% of midsize enterprises are expected to have at least one fractional executive on retainer. Wow, how have I been sleeping on this?!

Enterprise and private equity

You’d think big companies already have CTOs. Well, they do. And probably wear nice suits and shit like that. But there’s a specific use case I hadn’t considered. PE portfolio companies.

When a private equity firm acquires a company, they often bring in a fractional CTO for due diligence, post-acquisition cleanup, or exit preparation. Tech companies with well-managed systems exit at 6.2x revenue versus 4.1x for those with technical debt. On a $50M acquisition, that’s $10-15M in lost value. Think of all those fancy executive suits they could have bought!

But this is very specialized work. Bounded timeframes, high stakes, specific deliverables. Not ongoing advisory, more like “fix this before we sell.” Still a decent market though.

Wait. I think I already do this.

While working on this post, I had a moment of realization.

A friend of mine owns a steel detailing and drafting company. About 25 people. For years I’ve helped him manage his tech stack, set up backup systems, handle server infrastructure, onboard new team members onto their tools. He’s big enough to have real technical challenges but nowhere near big enough to need a dedicated CTO. Normally he just buys me lunch (which I greatly appreciate, Lee!).

Another friend runs a dental practice, actually multiple dentists sharing a larger practice. I’ve helped them evaluate new tools, consider how to train staff on technology, find ways to lower their software licensing overhead. Nothing glamorous, but real problems that needed someone technical to think through.

There are a couple more examples like this. Friends who own businesses, needed technical help, and I just… helped. Because that’s what you do and grab a beer.

I never thought of it as “fractional CTO work.” I thought of it as helping friends. But reading through all this research, that’s exactly what it is. Strategic technology guidance for businesses that need it but don’t need someone full-time.

The only difference is I’ve been doing it for free.

What do they actually do?

Now that I’m looking at my own experience through this lens, the breakdown makes a little more sense.

• 60%+ strategic work - Technology roadmaps, architecture decisions, vendor selection, aligning tech with business goals
• Team development - Mentoring staff, helping with hiring, building processes
• Light operational - Maybe 15% firefighting, security oversight, keeping things running

The key difference from a full-time CTO is focus. You’re not attending every meeting or getting pulled into every minor issue. You’re there for the decisions that shape the next 6-12 months, not the ones that shape the next sprint.

Most engagements run 10-15 hours per month. Some fractional CTOs support 4-5 clients simultaneously. That personally sounds like too many. I bet 3 is the sweet spot. Either way, the model works because each company doesn’t need 40 hours of CTO attention every week. They need the right 10 hours.

The honest tradeoffs

This all sounds great. But what are the downsides? You can’t have your cake and eat it too, right?

Divided attention is real. If you’re juggling multiple clients and one has a major outage, you might be in a meeting with another. That’s uncomfortable for everyone. How is this managed with verbal expectations as well as contract?

Shallow context is a risk. Part-time means you’ll never know the systems as well as someone who lives in them. You might miss dynamics that affect technical decisions. I talked about this in my previous post, but digging in is something I love. Part of the craft. Do I always want to be high level?

Limited influence could suck. Full-time executives can push through organizational change over months. Fractional leaders often can’t. Your time is limited, so your ability to effect deep cultural shifts is too. I’d hate to put in all that time and see them go down a totally different path.

I guess none of these are dealbreakers, but they’re still worth considering. The model works best when a company needs strategic guidance, not day-to-day operational leadership.

So where would I actually fit?

This is the question I keep circling back to.

Startups are the default market, but I’m not sure that’s where I want to be. It’s crowded. And honestly, I’ve done the “build from zero” thing enough times. The chaos of early-stage startups is fun when you’re 25. At this point I’ve seen enough seed-stage companies implode that I’m a little tired of it. Maybe I’m just getting old…

SMBs in growth mode feel more interesting to me. Established businesses hitting technology walls. Companies with real revenue, real teams, real problems. But no dedicated technical leadership. That’s the work I’ve apparently already been doing for friends. Modernization, mentoring, making existing systems work better.

PE portfolio work is intriguing but specialized. High stakes, bounded engagements, specific outcomes. I’ve done some enterprise work before, but always embedded with internal teams on specific initiatives. The PE angle is different, more like consulting with teeth. Worth exploring, but my spidey-senses tell me I prob won’t dig it.

Why I’m even thinking about this

Here’s where this connects to my earlier post about my agency.

I listed a bunch of possible pivots. Scale-up specialists. Distribution partners. Vibe-coding accelerators. Vertical specialists. But one option I didn’t really explore… what if the value isn’t in building things anymore, but in knowing what to build?

I’ve spent 15 years making technology decisions at the executive level. Architecture, team building, scaling, technical debt. I’ve seen what works and what breaks. I’ve made expensive mistakes and learned from them.

When founders ask me questions now, they’re not usually asking “can you build this for me?” They’re asking “should I build this at all?” and “how do I think about scaling?” and “what’s going to bite me in six months?”

That’s not development work. That’s CTO work. And maybe I’ve been giving it away for free in conversations when I could be packaging it as a service. That feels cringy to even say. I hate feeling like a sales person. But a guys gotta eat too (thats a bit dramatic, you get what I mean).

The part I’m still wrestling with

There’s something that feels strange about not being all-in somewhere. About being the person who shows up two days a week and leaves before the hard parts. Even if that’s not actually how it works, that’s the feeling I’m wrestling with. Maybe that’s just ego. Maybe “all-in” is the wrong frame for certain kinds of help. A surgeon isn’t less valuable because they don’t live at the hospital. But I’ve always been the guy in the trenches. Writing code. Shipping product. Sitting with the team at 2am when things are on fire. Going fractional feels like stepping back from that. I’m not sure if that’s growth or retreat.

What I’m still figuring out

A few questions I don’t have answers to yet:

• Is the value in the hours, or in having someone experienced available when decisions need to be made? Do I want to be “on call”?
• How do you build real trust with a team when you’re only there part-time? I feel like resistance from non-exec staff will be strong. How do you handle that?
• Do I focus on one segment or try to serve multiple? The answer is usually focus. But is there enough market?
• Is this a transition to something else, or a destination and where does this sit with my agency? Are they hiring me personally, or do I position my team as Fractional CTO’s collectively?

I discovered that 72.8% of fractional tech leaders have 15+ years of experience. That tracks. You’re not hiring someone junior for this. You’re paying for pattern recognition. For someone who’s seen the problem before and knows how to talk to the other humans.

I’ve got the experience. I’ve apparently already been doing the work. The question is whether I formalize it, and whether that’s interesting to anyone besides my friends.

I’m sharing this because I suspect I’m not the only experienced tech leader asking these questions. If you’ve gone down this path, or you’ve hired a fractional CTO, I’d genuinely love to hear what you learned.

For now, I’m still figuring it out while I try to keep shiny side up 😅