Should you hire a Fractional CTO?
There are many good reasons to hire a Fractional CTO (fCTO) but it’s not the right choice for every organization. Here are some of the most relevant situations where a Fractional CTO is worth considering.
You can’t afford a full time CTO.
Smaller companies and early stage startups can find it hard to justify the relatively large increase in their overhead that hiring a full time CTO incurs. Even if you could afford them, would you really get enough of a return on your investment? Saving 50% to 75% by hiring a Fractional CTO can free up funds that would be better spent elsewhere.
You’re a young startup.
Successful early stage startups are staffed by people who wear many hats. Your existing staff are not afraid to get their hands dirty with a wide array of responsibilities, so it’s important that any new executive that joins your team comes with a broad range of experiences. Sure you need a CTO, but you also need to sort your marketing and your sales, and that’s where a Fractional CTO that’s used to a more holistic approach can pay dividends.
You want to optimize your tech for investment or to sell your company.
It’s not uncommon for brilliant young companies to lack an experienced executive with the combination of business acumen and technical knowledge. Hiring a suit that doesn’t speak your language is setting you up for a high friction future. That means they must be able to make the most technical concepts simple for non-engineers to understand while being able to discuss your code base at a low level with your team. There are full time CTOs that can deliver on this, but you’ll find that this is commonplace with most Fractional CTOs.
You want to expand your offering.
Many organizations know they are missing opportunities to increase revenue through diversification of their core business, but they lack the technical know how to capture the money they are leaving on the table. Your clients may be open to you cross-selling them relevant new products and services leveraging the trust you’ve built through your existing relationship. A Fractional CTO with experience in increasing revenue through innovation can help you accomplish this.
You’re a busy CTO.
Yes it’s true — sometimes full-time CTOs hire a Fractional CTO to bolster their position at times of high demand. The job title of the Fractional CTO is usually tweaked so as not to make the company appear as a two headed dragon, nor to diminish the seniority of the CTO. There are times where a company needs a temporary wartime general to help conquer an issue they are stuck on, often due to organizational dysfunction and/or an aggressive competitor.
If you see yourself in this list then you might be interested in How to hire the right Fractional CTO.