This post is a “work-in-progress” created in the FAQ style designed to help you, the startup founder / business owner, to finally bring on a technical leader your startup needs and deserves. Just give it a read and then lets have a conversation. I’ll be making changes based on your questions and my own experience. Don’t hesitate to Reach Out or leave a comment if you have something to add.
- What is Fractional CTO / CTO as-a-service role?
- But I want full-time CTO for my startup, not someone “fractional”?
- Can’t I just offer my full-time CTO more equity with little or no salary? Really want someone who would focus 100% on my startup.
- Are there downsides to the fractional CTO model?
- Is my company ready to bring on a technical leader / FCTO?
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What is Fractional CTO / CTO as-a-service role?
Well, it’s pretty much how it sounds – it’s a way for you to bring on board a highly experienced technology leader without full-time commitment and associated risks and costs.
You can also look at this as a way to “date” before the marriage : )
But I want full-time CTO for my startup, not someone “fractional”?
Do you really? Let’s see.
Are you ok with spending upwards of 300K + equity + bonuses to get a full-time CTO for your startup?
If you are, then sure, by no means – DO IT!
Couple assumptions to keep in mind:
1) You can actually find and convince the one to join your awesome company full-time, which might take you another half a year if not longer.
2) You have plenty of meaningful work cut out for the new full-time CTO aka have your ducks in a row.
Great, but what if after four months you realize it’s not a good fit?
Are you ok starting over again with all of the time and money wasted?
Well, then maybe you should consider the FCTO model and “date” first before tying the knot. It actually works both ways – no experienced leader typically wants to jump into the new company full-time without testing the water.
Can’t I just offer my full-time CTO more equity with little or no salary? Really want someone who would focus 100% on my startup.
I get what you want, but let’s think it through here. From personal experience it seems like founders tend to overvalue stock and undervalue cash :0)
Don’t be mad, don’t be mad.
Who you think would respond to your low salary / high equity ( or equity only ) offer – I’m guessing someone with a lot of experience and a couple of successful exits, someone who is financially set for life and really believes in your startup idea.
Great, right?!!
That’s exactly the type of person you want!! Case closed, I’m wrong, move on – right? Sorry, but… Do you really believe your idea will stand a chance against the hottest Silicon Valley startups competing for the same talent? Do you have a solid track record yourself to enter a competition race?
On the other end of the spectrum could be someone like me years ago when I was at the beginning of my startups journey – a solid well rounded engineer trying to break into leadership roles.
Also great, right?
Well, yes, kind of.. If you pick the right candy out of the chocolate box.. It’s pretty much 50/50, more like 20/80 (not in your favor) that you will find the right person who will naturally blossom into the CTO role (like I did years ago.. haha).
See, there is a difference between experienced technical executive and a hands-on engineer.
Founders often tend to mix them together but it’s just not the same thing. You may soon (if you lucky) realize you spent precious time, money and equity on someone unable to transition from the “coder” to the tech leader. Nothing wrong with that if you can afford it. Can you?
That’s where FCTO really shines – it gives you, a founder, a way to offload your tech problems into experienced hands so you can focus on finding product market fit. Drop me a line if you are ready to dive into details.
Are there downsides to the fractional CTO model?
Like with everything else in life there is no single solution that works for all of the problems. A downside for you might be an upside for someone else’s situation.
Without a doubt it’s better to have a full-time CTO who is highly motivated and focused on one thing BUT only if the company is ready for it. An example would be a startup that found product market fit and ready to scale up or a larger organization that wants to spin off new idea while having the budget and security of the parent org or maybe even an early stage startup that is extremely well funded and focused on rapid growth.
At the same time you can significantly shorten your runaway, and with that chances to make it, if you decide to bring on a full-time CTO too soon.
Every situation is unique, let’s talk.
Is my company ready to bring on a technical leader / FCTO?
There are couple simple things you need to have in place before reaching out for help:
- Reasonable stakeholders and clear decision making process
Every successful project I’ve seen needs someone who is constantly pushing it forward. Be prepared to answer the following important questions:
Who is the business driver of your product?
How are the decisions made and priorities set?
What are your current biggest challenges? - Product roadmap
It’s always great to have some sort of plan. I’m not saying you need to have a hundred page document with all of the details outlined (those could actually be counterproductive based on my experience), but at least one or two pages to quickly communicate product direction and target audience. - UI / UX / wireframes
It’s VERY useful to have MVP design ready and accessible in something like Figma to quickly communicate product idea and next steps. - Budget
I’m sure you’ve heard this before: “Good seafood is not cheap, cheap seafood is not good”. While fractional services are cheaper compared to full-time, they are not necessarily cheap.
That’s about it to start the discussion.
If you think you have these pieces in place I’ll be happy to chat.
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