Full-Time Technical Leadership Without Full-Time Cost
CTO as a Service provides near full-time technical leadership (4-5 days/week) for $15,000-25,000 per month. You get an experienced Chief Technology Officer managing your engineering team, architecture, hiring, and strategy - without the $200,000+ salary, equity dilution, or long-term commitment of a permanent hire.
Quick Answer:
Get complete CTO leadership for 80-120 hours per month with 6-month minimum engagement. Perfect for Series A companies with 10-50 developers who need daily technical leadership but aren't ready for a permanent CTO.
$15,000-20,000/month
Time Commitment: 4 days/week (80-100 hours/month)
Best For: Series A startups, 10-30 developers
✓
Daily standups and team management✓
Complete engineering oversight✓
Sprint planning and retrospectives✓
Hiring and team development✓
Weekly CEO sync calls✓
Monthly board presentations✓
24/7 emergency availabilityMinimum: 6 months ($90,000-120,000)
$20,000-25,000/month
Time Commitment: 5 days/week (100-120 hours/month)
Best For: Series B scale-ups, 30-50 developers
Everything in Standard, plus:
✓
Full 5-day weekly presence✓
Multi-team coordination✓
Accelerated hiring support✓
Priority response time✓
Enhanced board reporting✓
Investor relations supportMinimum: 6 months ($120,000-150,000)
| Factor | CTO as a Service | Full-Time CTO | Fractional CTO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time Commitment | 4-5 days/week | 5+ days/week | 1-2 days/week |
| Monthly Cost | $15k-25k | $17k-25k+ | $5k-12k |
| Annual Cost | $180k-300k | $250k-450k + equity | $60k-144k |
| Equity Required | None | 1-5% | None |
| Start Time | 1-2 weeks | 3-6 months | 1-2 weeks |
| Daily Management | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Best For | 10-50 developers | 25-100+ developers | 5-20 developers |
Client:
B2B SaaS, 25 developers, Series A funded, $200k MRR
Challenge:
CTO left suddenly. Three major customers threatening to churn due to performance issues. Team demoralized. Series B in 9 months. Infrastructure costs spiraling at $45k/month AWS.
Engagement:
9 months Premium package ($22k/month)
Results:
✅
Successfully raised $18M Series B (technology cited as competitive strength)✅
Reduced customer churn from 8% to 2% monthly✅
Zero developer attrition during transition✅
MRR grew from $200k to $420k✅
AWS costs optimized: $45k → $28k/month (saving $204k annually)✅
Achieved SOC 2 Type II certification✅
Hired excellent permanent CTO with smooth transitionInvestment:
$198,000 (9 months × $22k)
Return:
$18M Series B raised + $204k annual savings + prevented team collapse
"When our CTO left, I thought we might lose the company. CTO as a Service didn't just save us - they transformed us into the company investors wanted to fund. The $200k investment was the best money we've ever spent."
- CEO