Your choices aren't limited to highly paid-CTO or nothing. You can still get many of the benefits of a full-time CTO by hiring a Fractional CTO that targets specifically the areas you need help in on a part-time basis. You get the collective leadership experience and capabilities of Wilder Innovation by using our Fractional CTO service.
What Is Fractional CTO?
A Fractional CTO makes technical decisions for your company without requiring a full-time hire. You get someone accountable for the technology strategy, architecture, and vendor relationships. They work part-time, usually one to three days per week, and report directly to you.
This isn't consulting. You're not getting a report you have to act on yourself. You're getting a technical leader who owns outcomes, makes calls, and handles the follow-through. The same person who helps you decide also manages execution.
Most founders don't need someone in the building every day. They need good decisions made quickly, then clear communication about progress and tradeoffs.
How It Works
We start by understanding your current situation. What's built, what works, what doesn't, and where the worry sits. This usually takes one focused week of conversations and system review.
From there, we define what needs to happen in the next three to six months. Not everything. Just the decisions and work that matter most right now. That becomes the roadmap.
Then we execute. We make technical calls, work with your team or vendors, and keep you informed without overwhelming you. Progress happens in defined chunks, not endless sprints.
- Initial assessment - Review what exists, identify gaps, understand your business goals
- Define priorities - Agree on what matters most in the next quarter
- Make decisions - Architecture, hiring, vendor selection, technical debt
- Manage execution - Work with engineers or agencies to deliver
- Report regularly - Weekly updates on progress, blockers, and tradeoffs
AI-Native Engineering Leadership
Your team should already be using AI to write code, review pull requests, generate tests, and maintain documentation. Most teams aren't doing this well because no one owns the rollout.
As your Fractional CTO, we lead AI adoption. We decide what gets automated, what stays manual, and how to verify AI-assisted work. Your engineers get clear direction instead of guessing.
This isn't a side project. It's part of how modern engineering teams operate. A senior engineer who used to spend two days on boilerplate now spends two hours. That time goes to architecture, planning, and fixing actual problems.
What Changes for Your Team
- Code reviews happen faster - AI catches syntax and pattern issues, engineers focus on logic
- Tests actually get written - Removing tedious work means tests stop being skipped
- Documentation stays current - Engineers document as they build, not months later
- Decisions get recorded - Why we built it this way gets written down, not lost
What You Get
Higher output without hiring more people. Your current team delivers more, faster, with better quality. Onboarding new engineers takes days instead of weeks. Technical debt decreases because documentation and tests happen during development.
You don't manage the AI rollout. We do. You see the results—faster delivery, fewer bugs, clearer communication.
Learn more about AI-native engineering
Who It's For
Non-technical founders who need technical decisions made but don't want to hire a full-time CTO yet. You're past the idea stage. You have a product, users, or funding. Now you need someone to own the technology side while you run the business.
- You're managing engineers or an agency but can't evaluate their work
- You're about to raise money and need a technical leader investors can trust
- Your product is growing and you're not sure the current architecture will scale
- You need to hire senior engineers but don't know how to interview or vet them
Key Benefits
You get CTO-level ownership without the salary, equity, or political complexity of a permanent hire. Decisions get made faster because there's one person accountable. No committee. No guessing.
- Clear accountability - One person responsible for all technical outcomes
- Faster decisions - No more waiting for consensus or external reports
- Lower cost - Pay for days worked, not a full salary and equity package
- Flexibility - Scale up or down as your needs change
- Immediate impact - Start within days, not months of recruiting
- No hiring risk - If it's not working, you can adjust or end the arrangement
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time does a Fractional CTO actually spend with us?
It varies. Most engagements start at one to two days per week. That's enough for strategic decisions, team management, and vendor oversight. If you're in a build phase or hiring rapidly, it might go up to three days. We adjust based on what's actually happening.
What's the difference between a Fractional CTO and a consultant?
Consultants give advice. A Fractional CTO makes decisions and owns the results. If something goes wrong, it's on them to fix it. They don't hand you a report and leave. They stay accountable for execution.
When should we hire a full-time CTO instead?
When your technical complexity requires daily decision-making and you have the budget for a senior full-time hire. Usually that's after product-market fit, during rapid scaling. Until then, fractional leadership keeps you moving without the cost or commitment.
Schedule a call to learn more about how a Fractional CTO can help you.