Fractional means you have a CTO with ongoing responsibility, without hiring one full-time.
Ownership, agreed with you.
- Fractional CTOI own a recurring technical remit: direction, engineering leadership, delivery, spending, suppliers and risk. We establish which decisions I make, which we make together and which remain yours. You set the commercial objectives; I lead the technical work needed to support them.
- Interim CTOI take the technical lead through a CTO gap or planned transition. Decisions and delivery keep moving while we establish the lasting arrangement. That can include recruitment and handover.
- Focused assignments and advisoryA product build, assessment or hiring process can stand alone. An assessment gives you findings and recommendations; advisory contributes judgement to your decisions. Implementation can follow under a separate scope.
Founder
Commercial objectives and business commitments
Matthias
Technical direction, decisions and delivery leadership
Team and partners
Implementation and operating work
Together
Priorities, investment and agreed decision authority
Execution02
From the constraint to the work that changes it.
Analyse
Establish the constraint and technical reality
Structure
Choose priorities, architecture, people and investment
Execute
Lead delivery, review evidence and resolve blockers
Often my role is less about adding more, and more about removing what doesn’t serve the business.
Who carries out the work?
Your developers or development partners usually implement it. I set priorities, make technical decisions, review quality and unblock delivery. Where capability is missing, I help hire or bring in partners. They are typically employed or contracted directly by you, and I manage their work as your CTO. We agree the arrangement for each engagement. I build personally when that makes the best economic sense.
The team keeps progressing between our reviews. We assess working software, spending, risks and the next decision—not just activity.
Working rhythm03
Working side by side.
An illustrative engagement
A software venture has two developers; its founder is also making the technical decisions. I take responsibility for architecture, technical priorities, quality and delivery leadership.
We meet weekly as management and with the developers. Between reviews, they implement agreed priorities; I resolve blocked decisions asynchronously and review work as needed. The founder owns commercial objectives and approves major investment or scope changes under our agreement.
Engineering salaries, partner contracts and operating costs sit alongside my CTO fee. A separate product build would need its own scope. This illustrates one relationship; responsibilities and working rhythm are agreed individually.
I work mainly remotely, with occasional on-site involvement when it adds value, and am available during business hours. We establish how to raise blocked decisions and emerging risks.
To start, I need access to the relevant systems, time with the team and clarity on business priorities. Decisions are documented; handover transfers the reasoning, responsibilities and operating knowledge.
“The most reliable manager I have ever worked with so far.”
Fees04
Fees follow the responsibility and scope.
CTO mandates start at
CHF 3'500per month
We agree the scope individually. Focused assignments are quoted separately.
The starting fee covers a small leadership remit. We establish responsibilities, deliverables and fees before starting, including which development, specialist and operating costs sit alongside the engagement.
Partner choice05
Choose the responsibility your business needs.
I bring founder judgement, executive leadership and engineering depth. My role fits when you need those perspectives connected to execution.
What you need
An arrangement to consider
Recurring technical ownership
Fractional CTO
Leadership through a gap or transition
Interim CTO
Continuous executive involvement
Permanent CTO
Implementation capacity under capable leadership
Development team or agency
An independent view or defined output
Assessment, advisory or focused assignment
Compare the responsibility, relevant evidence and ability to carry decisions through. If your existing leadership already provides those, a smaller external contribution may be enough.
Questions06
Practical questions
Can you work with a good engineering team?
Yes. Capable developers still benefit from clear priorities, timely decisions and senior leadership. I build on what already works.
Will fractional involvement be enough?
We establish what the business needs. If that requires a full-time CTO or more delivery capacity, I’ll tell you.
Do we need an assessment first?
Only when further investigation is useful. It is not a compulsory stage, and you can commission it independently.
Next step07
Which decision or blockage needs attention?
The first conversation is free and takes 30 minutes. You leave with my view on whether I can help and how.
If there is a fit, we agree the scope, responsibility, fee and start date. Any necessary further investigation is agreed separately.
Focused services08
Focused work, with a clear result.
Each service can be commissioned independently or included in a CTO mandate.
Build and Evolve Products
Product Engineering
For an idea or prototype ready for customers: I lead requirements, UX, architecture, development, testing and launch of a production-ready product.
Product Validation
For founders deciding what deserves investment: I lead discovery, feasibility checks, prototypes and experiments, giving you evidence and a recommendation to proceed, change or stop.
Platform Engineering
For unreliable software or architecture limiting growth: I lead performance, testing, reliability and targeted architecture improvements so the platform can evolve.
Modernisation
For substantial change to a live product: I decide what to keep, refactor or replace and lead architecture, migration and team changes while protecting operations.
Set Direction and Improve Delivery
Technology Strategy
For consequential investment decisions: I connect product, architecture, data, people and delivery economics in justified choices and an executable roadmap.
Engineering Turnaround
For stalled delivery: I identify the causes and lead technical, team and supplier changes towards viable commitments and working releases.
Relevant case.Team Development
For missing skills, unclear roles or dependence on individuals: I develop the organisation, leadership and working practices, establishing responsibilities, performance expectations and knowledge transfer.
Technical Hiring
For founders appointing engineers or technical leaders: I define the role, lead sourcing and practical assessment, and support selection and onboarding.
CTO appointment case.Vendor Management
For supplier selection or outsourced delivery that needs control: I lead scope, commercial oversight, delivery review and acceptance, securing access to code, systems and knowledge.
Make AI, Data and Operations Work
AI only matters when it creates measurable advantage.
AI Strategy
For deciding where AI warrants investment: I assess value, feasibility, data and suppliers, then define priorities, governance, success measures and an implementation roadmap.
AI Engineering
For taking AI into dependable use: I lead model, LLM or agent design, integration, evaluation and deployment, with measurable quality and controlled costs.
AI workspace case.Data And Analytics
For fragmented records and unreliable metrics: I lead data architecture, pipelines, ownership and quality controls, producing dependable information for decisions, operations and product behaviour.
Automation
For service costs that grow with every customer: I redesign workflows, connect systems and lead automation with human review to reduce repetitive work.
Workflow case.Cloud And DevOps
For infrastructure that is difficult to release, operate or afford: I lead cloud architecture, deployment automation, monitoring and recovery for reliable operations at a sustainable cost.
Security And Risk
For technical exposure or customer security requirements: I assess controls, prioritise remediation and lead identity, data protection and incident-readiness improvements, with evidence of implementation.
Assess Decisions and Support Transactions
Technical Assessment
For an independent view of product or engineering: I review architecture, code, data, delivery and operations, giving you findings, prioritised risks and recommended actions.
Technical Due Diligence
For investors and acquirers: I assess technical assets, team, dependencies, IP and operating risks, explaining material findings and their remediation, cost and execution implications.
My founder/CTO transaction experience.Funding Readiness
For founders preparing a round: I develop the technical narrative, product evidence, costed roadmap, milestones and funding scenarios for investor discussions and the data room.
Board Advisory
For board-level technology decisions: I challenge proposals and advise on investment, risk and governance. Executive responsibility and implementation remain separately defined.