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CTO-level judgment, when it actually counts
No need for a full-time CTO — that runs €150k+ a year — but you do want someone to make the irreversible technical calls with you, give your team direction, and keep your AI strategy sharp? We provide fractional CTOs who are still in the code. Not advice from a distance, but a technical leader in the decision with you.
A CTO who still codes
Most fractional CTOs wrote their last line of code years ago. We read your codebase, assess your architecture, and make decisions we could build ourselves.
AI without the hype
What do you build, what do you buy, and what's a demo that never reaches production? We build AI systems every day — so we know the difference, and keep you away from expensive toys.
Decisions you won't undo
Tech stack, architecture, build-vs-buy, your first senior hire. The choices you'll still feel a year from now, made with someone who sees the consequences before you commit.
Direction for your team
Developers who ship need someone guarding the course. We provide technical direction, mentor your engineers, and keep everything pulling in the same direction.
Our Skills and Technologies
Tech Due Diligence
Technology Roadmap
Architecture Decisions
Build vs. Buy
Scalability
Security & Compliance
GDPR Compliance
Technical Debt
Team & Hiring
Vendor Selection
Risk Management
Digital Transformation
Real-world projects where we applied Fractional CTO to deliver results.
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Does this sound familiar?
- You’re facing a technical decision you can’t easily undo — replatforming, committing to a major platform, reworking your architecture — and there’s no one senior to pressure-test it with
- Your team ships, but no one guards the direction: duplicated work, no standards, and technical debt piling up that no one prioritizes
- “We need to do something with AI” — but you can’t tell a toy from what actually reaches production, so you don’t dare invest and can’t afford to sit still
- Your investors or board ask technical questions you answer on gut feel, when you’d rather know for sure
- You’re about to make your first senior engineering hire and know one wrong choice costs you a year — but you’re missing someone who asks the right questions in that conversation
- You’re the most technical person in the room, but the decisions are outgrowing you — and there’s no one senior to fall back on
If this sounds familiar: you don’t need a full-time CTO. You need CTO-level judgment — right when it matters most.
The hard part isn’t the advice
Anyone can write a roadmap deck. Every consultant has an opinion on your tech stack. Advice is cheap — which is exactly why it feels so safe to buy.
But the real work is in the decisions you can’t undo, made by someone who understands your system well enough to carry the consequences. This is what trips companies up at the CTO level:
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The one-way door
Replatforming, committing to an architecture, picking a major platform you're locked into for years. Easy to get wrong, expensive to undo. You want someone who sees the consequences before you sign, not after.
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Advice from the sideline
A CTO who hasn't touched a codebase in years advises on feel and memory. The very details where things break in practice are the ones they no longer see. Judgment without hands-on is just guesswork in a suit.
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AI without judgment
"We need to do something with AI" without knowing what's a demo and what reaches production. The result: months building something that never ships, or missing a real opportunity out of fear. Telling them apart takes someone who builds them.
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A team without a compass
Developers working hard, but no one guarding the course. Everyone ships, but the whole thing stalls: duplicated work, no standards, and technical debt no one prioritizes because no one has the overview.
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The due-diligence surprise
In a funding round or acquisition, the technical debt no one flagged surfaces. At that moment, with a deal on the table, it's too late to fix calmly — and it drags down your valuation.
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The expensive first hire
Choosing your first senior engineer or tech lead wrong costs you a year: choices that linger, a team shaped the wrong way. Without someone who asks the right questions in the interview, you're guessing.
Our take on the fractional CTO
We don’t deliver an advisor who drops by now and then. We deliver a technical leader who helps make the call — and could build it themselves. The difference between a polished report and a decision you’d bet your company on is almost never the strategy on paper. It’s whether the person making it truly understands the system.
Most fractional CTOs last sat in the code ten years ago. We’re still in it this week. That’s exactly why our advice holds up: we know the details where things break, and when we say something is possible with AI, it’s because we’ve built it ourselves. No slides — decisions we put our name to.
Jeroen , 010 Coding Collective
A large part of those decisions is now about AI: build it, buy it, or leave it. If you want to zoom in on that, we have a dedicated service for it — AI strategy & consulting. When such a system then has to run reliably in production, read AI agents and automation. And if you’re unsure whether a vibe-coded prototype can be the basis, a vibe coding audit is often the first step.
What we help with
Ongoing CTO-level leadership, for a fixed number of hours per week. We help make the strategic technical decisions and carry the responsibility.
A fixed number of hours per week (4-16), scaling with what you need
Ownership of architecture, roadmap and the major technical choices
Management and mentoring of your engineers
Present in management and board meetings, directly reachable for escalations
The question now on every boardroom table: what do we do with AI? Your fractional CTO separates the hype from what reaches production, because we build the systems ourselves.
A sharp line between what reaches production and what stays a toy
Build-vs-buy: what you build, what you buy in, what you leave
A roadmap that accounts for your data, your team and your risk
Honest advice on what AI delivers — and what it doesn't
A thorough review of your technical stack, team and processes. Essential for a funding round or acquisition — or simply to know where you stand.
Codebase and architecture review by people who build themselves
Technical debt mapped, with what it costs you now and later
Security and compliance check, including GDPR
A clear report with priorities, not a list without direction
Sometimes you don't need an ongoing CTO, but a second opinion at the right moment. For the decision you don't want to make alone.
A second opinion on architecture, platform or vendor choice
Thinking it through before you start a replatform or major migration
The right questions for your first senior hire
A sounding board for your tech lead or founding team, as often as needed
What we recommend, we run ourselves. The AI systems we advise you on, we build too — the site you’re reading right now runs on one we built for ourselves.
Ways to work with us
Free
Free consultation
A decision you don't want to get wrong, a team that lacks direction, or an AI question that keeps nagging? We put your situation on the table and give honest technical advice.
Includes
- 1.5 hours with a senior tech lead
- Analysis of your situation and biggest question
- Written summary afterwards
- Concrete next steps
Best for: founders and tech leads with a strategic technical question
On request
Tech Due Diligence
A thorough review of your codebase, team and processes. Ideal for a funding round, an acquisition, or when you want to know in black and white where you stand.
Includes
- Codebase and architecture review
- Technical debt mapped out
- Security and compliance check (incl. GDPR)
- Assessment of team and processes
- Clear report with prioritized recommendations
Possible activities
Architecture review Cloud infrastructure audit Security assessment GDPR compliance check Scalability analysis DevOps maturity Team skill assessment Vendor lock-in analysis Cost optimization
Best for: startups pre-funding and M&A processes
On request
Fractional CTO
Ongoing CTO-level leadership for a fixed number of hours per week. We help make the strategic technical decisions — and can build them ourselves.
Includes
- Fixed hours per week (4-16)
- Ownership of architecture and roadmap
- Strategic technical decisions
- Management and mentoring of your team
- Present in management and board meetings
- Directly reachable for escalations
Possible activities
AI strategy Technology roadmap Architecture decisions Build vs. buy Hiring & onboarding Vendor selection Technical debt prioritization Cloud strategy Security governance Risk management
Best for: scale-ups without the budget or need for a full-time CTO
* Pricing is indicative and depends on specific project requirements and scope.
How does it work?
We always start with a free consultation. In ninety minutes we put your situation and your biggest technical question on the table, and tell you honestly what we’d do. Then we decide the shape together: a one-off review, a sparring engagement, or ongoing fractional CTO leadership. No obligations.
What is a fractional CTO and when do you need one?
A fractional CTO is an experienced technical leader you hire part-time instead of employing full-time. You get CTO-level judgment — on architecture, AI strategy, hiring and the major technical choices — for a few hours a week. It fits when you're facing weighty decisions or your team lacks direction, but a full-time CTO (easily €150k+ a year) is too heavy or too expensive for where you are now.
What does it cost to hire a fractional CTO?
You pay for a fixed number of hours per week, usually between 4 and 16, scaling up or down as your situation changes. That's a fraction of a full-time CTO, which with employer costs easily runs €150k+ a year. We work on request with a rate that matches the commitment; in the free consultation we determine together how many hours you actually need.
What's the difference between a fractional CTO and an IT consultant?
A consultant delivers advice and leaves. A fractional CTO makes the decision with you, carries the responsibility, and stays involved in execution. And with us, that person still codes: we read your codebase and assess your architecture from the inside, not from the sideline. That's the difference between an opinion and a decision someone puts their name to.
Can a fractional CTO help with our AI strategy?
Yes, and it's exactly where we stand out. The biggest technical question right now is what you do with AI: what you build, what you buy, and what's a demo that never reaches production. Because we build AI systems ourselves every day, we know the difference — and keep you away from expensive toys and on course toward what actually works.
How many hours per week does a fractional CTO work?
Usually between 4 and 16 hours per week, depending on your phase. In an intense period — a funding round, a replatform, a critical hire — it can temporarily go up; when things calm down, it scales back. The whole point of fractional is that you match the commitment to what the moment demands, without a fixed 40-hour contract.
What is tech due diligence and when do I need it?
Tech due diligence is a thorough review of your codebase, architecture, team and processes, with technical debt, security and compliance clearly mapped. You need it before a funding round or acquisition — investors and buyers ask for it, and surprises at that moment drag down your valuation. But even without a deal it's valuable: it tells you in black and white where you stand technically and what needs attention first.
Our team has extensive experience with the technologies behind Fractional CTO. Discover which team members are specialized in this area.
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Maikel Hofman
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Kevin Land
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Jeroen Marchand
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Jur Ligteringen
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Marcel Fleuren
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Kevin Schenkers
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Eward Bartlema
From AI prototypes that need to be production-ready to strategic advice, code audits, or ongoing development support. We're happy to think along about the best approach, no strings attached.
free
Free Consultation
In 1.5 hours we discuss your project, challenges and goals. Honest advice from senior developers, no sales pitch.
1.5 hours with senior developer(s)
Analysis of your current situation
Written summary afterwards
Concrete next steps