Service
A fractional CTO for your startup
Senior technical leadership without a full-time hire. I set the architecture, lead the team and review the code, and when it's needed, I build the product myself
- Type
- Service
- Published
- Updated
What does a fractional CTO do for a startup?
Most fractional CTOs advise. I also build. With AI agents in my daily work, one senior engineer can ship what used to need a small team, so you get the decisions and the delivery from one person
When a startup needs one
- You have an idea but no technical co-founder. Someone has to choose the stack, plan the MVP and decide who builds it.
- An MVP exists, but it breaks. It was built by freelancers or an agency, and every new feature takes longer than the last one.
- You have developers, but no technical lead. Nobody owns the architecture, the priorities or the code quality.
- You are preparing for investors or grants. You need a technical roadmap and answers to technical questions.
- You want AI in the product. You need someone who knows where it saves money and where it is just hype.
What I do
- Architecture and stack. Decisions made for where the product is going, not just for this sprint.
- Roadmap. What to build now, what later, and what never.
- Team. Hiring and onboarding developers, checking agencies and their estimates.
- Code quality. Code review, standards, deployment pipeline, basic security.
- Hands-on work. I write code too: I can build the MVP alone or take the critical parts myself.
- AI strategy. Where AI makes the product better, and how to keep its costs under control.
- Documents for investors and grants. The technical part of the pitch, the roadmap and the answers.
How we start
- Free call. Your product, team, stage and the main problem right now.
- Audit. I look at the code, the infrastructure and the plans, and tell you what to fix first.
- Agreement. Format, scope, rate. Work starts with a prepayment.
- Work. Regular check-ins, decisions written down, progress you can see.
The format is chosen together: a set number of hours a week, part-time or full-time, a monthly retainer, or a fixed scope such as "plan and build the MVP". It can change as the startup grows.
Experience
- OMO Kids, CTO, now. An iOS app for parents and children: screen time unlocks after the child solves quizzes and tasks. Live on the App Store.
- Imit, CTO, 2023. An AI chatbot that reproduced a person's writing style from their message history.
- Mafstat, CEO. A statistics platform for the sports mafia community. I know the founder's side: budget, deadlines, a product that has to earn.
- My own studio. A team of nine, client projects paid in milestones, launch-day traffic and DDoS attacks.
- About 15 years of full-stack and 20+ years in digital, starting with interface design.
Technologies
Questions and answers
What is a fractional CTO?
A senior technical leader who works for your startup part of the time, also called CTO as a service. You get CTO-level decisions without a full-time CTO salary
How many hours a week do you work?
As many as the stage needs: from a few hours a week to full-time. We agree on it at the start and adjust as you grow
What are your fractional CTO rates?
They depend on the format and the hours. After a free call I propose a monthly rate or a fixed price for a defined scope
Do you also write code?
Yes. I can build the MVP myself or take on the most critical parts while leading the team
Can you help with hiring?
Yes: I write the role, interview candidates, check test tasks and help with onboarding
Who owns the code and the decisions?
You do. The code, the accounts and the documentation stay with the company
Where are you based?
In Barcelona, Spain (CET). I work remotely with teams worldwide
What language do we work in?
Ukrainian or Russian. In English I work in writing; for calls we can use an interpreter
