---
title: "Fractional CTO for two quarters, then a review — BoldOrion"
description: "A senior technical leader for two quarters, then a review. We make the technical calls with your team, write them down, and stand behind them with investors."
url: https://www.boldorion.com/services/fractional-cto/
---

[Services](https://www.boldorion.com/services) Fractional CTO

# Who’s making the technical calls? We make them with you, for a set term.

A senior technical leader at the table for two quarters, then a review. We make the calls with your team, write them down with the reasons, and stand behind them in front of investors.

[Talk it through](https://www.boldorion.com/contact)

- **Term**: Two quarters, then review
- **Price**: A fixed monthly fee, quoted after the evaluation
- **You leave with**: Decisions made and written down, and a team that can carry them.

When to bring us in

## The calls got bigger, and nobody owns them.

Most companies reach a point where the technical decisions outgrow the people making them, and a full-time CTO is too early, or too far off.

- Investors keep asking technical questions we can’t answer well.
- Our developers want one stack.
  We’re not sure it’s the right one.
- The server bill is growing faster than we are.
- Leadership asks for one thing,
  and engineering builds another.
- The team is busy,
  and the product isn’t moving.

How it runs

## Two quarters, then a review.

A set term keeps the role clear. The judgment is senior, everything is written down, and the team can carry it once we step back.

1. Month 1

   01

   ### Learn the ground

   The product, the team, the code, the bills, and the plans. We find the decisions that matter most, and the ones already made by accident.

   The calls that matter
2. Months 2–5

   02

   ### Make the calls

   The stack, the vendors, the hires, and what to build next, made with your team and written down with the reasons. And beside you when investors ask.

   Decisions, written down
3. Month 6

   03

   ### Review

   What we decided, what it changed, and what comes next. Then we agree whether you need another term, a full-time hire, or neither.

   Renew, hire, or step back

You leave with

## Decisions that outlast the term.

The goal is a team that can make these calls without us. So we write each one down, with the reasons, for whoever comes next.

1. ### Decisions, with their reasons

   Each big call written down, with what we chose, what we didn’t, and what it costs, so nobody has to guess later.

2. ### A foundation investors trust

   Technology an investor’s technical advisor will recognise, and answers ready for due diligence.

3. ### A bill sized to the runway

   Infrastructure, vendors, and team costs that match the stage you’re at, and how long the money has to last.

4. ### A team that can carry it

   Engineers and partners who know why things are built the way they are. When it’s time, the brief for a full-time CTO.

**What it isn’t:** an open-ended retainer, or a name on a slide.

Where we’ve done this

## The hard part was the trade-off.

Two startups where every technical call was weighed against growth, the runway, and what investors would ask.

Social platform · Web, iOS, and Android · 2018–2022

### They asked for features that brought people together. Every new member shortened their runway.

[Read the case study : FaithSocial](https://www.boldorion.com/case-studies/faithsocial)

Pharmaceutical data startup · Stealth · 2023

### They asked for help with their technical decisions. Investors wanted proof, not a pitch.

[Read the case study : Pharmaceutical AI startup](https://www.boldorion.com/case-studies/pharma-intelligence)

How it starts

## Most engagements start with the evaluation.

A conversation, then a two-week evaluation. If you need a technical leader at the table, the evaluation will say so.

1. First

   ### A conversation

   Bring the question you can’t quite phrase yet. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so, and point you to who is.

   Not a pitch

2. Then

   ### Strategy evaluation

   Two weeks on the plan, the product, or the AI idea. You get a recommendation, the trade-offs behind it, and which engagement you need, if any.

   Two weeks · **$7,500** fixed

3. If it’s the right step

   ### Fractional CTO

   Two quarters at the table, at a fixed monthly fee quoted from what the evaluation found.

   Two quarters, then review This page

Questions

## Fair questions.

**How much of your time do we get?**

It follows the work. There’s more around a fundraise, a launch, or a big hire, and less in between. The fee stays the same, so you never weigh a question against the clock.

**Will you talk to our investors?**

Yes. We’ll explain how the product is built and how it will scale, in the pitch and in due diligence.

**Will you build it too?**

We can, but that’s Delivery, with its own scope and price. Keeping them apart means the calls are made for the business, not for the build.

**What happens at the review?**

We look at what we decided and what it changed, and agree what’s next. That might be another term, a full-time hire we help you find, or stepping back.

Services

## Three other ways in.

Each starts with the problem you can see.

Strategy evaluation

### Not sure where to start?

Two weeks · **$7,500** fixed [How it works](https://www.boldorion.com/services/strategy-evaluation)

01 Systems architecture

### How should it all fit together?

Six weeks · fixed price [How it works](https://www.boldorion.com/services/systems-architecture)

02 Delivery

### Who’s going to build it?

Fixed scope, in phases [How it works](https://www.boldorion.com/services/delivery)

Talk it through

## Bring the question you can’t quite phrase yet.

That’s usually the right place to start.
A conversation, not a pitch. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so, and point you to who is.

[Talk it through](https://www.boldorion.com/contact) [hello@boldorion.com](mailto:hello@boldorion.com)
