Fractional CTO
A part-time CTO, without hiring a CTO
There's a stage where your product already demands serious technical decisions - but doesn't yet justify, or need, a full-time CTO. That gap is dangerous: the decisions get made anyway, just with nobody able to evaluate them.
Our fractional CTO service puts senior technical judgement into that stage: by the hour, with no lock-in and with prices in plain sight.
The decisions nobody is validating for you today
If any of these sound familiar, this is exactly what it's for:
- Choosing a stack without knowing what each option locks in for years
- Judging whether a supplier's quote is reasonable or inflated
- Deciding whether what's built gets patched or rebuilt - and when
- Interviewing a technical profile without knowing what to ask or how to weigh the answers
- Knowing whether what you're delivered is well built or just works today
What it includes
- Architecture and stack decisions: the ones that shape the next five years
- Review of what's already built and of third-party work, with clear conclusions: what's fine, what isn't, what's urgent
- Judgement in technical hiring: profile definition, interviews and evaluation
- Translation between the business and the development team, in both directions
- A technical roadmap aligned with the company's moment - including the funding calendar
That last point isn't decoration: if public funding is on the horizon, the technical roadmap and the calendar of calls must be designed together. It's how we work funding.
How it's hired
Like everything at Vettra: by dedication, month by month, no lock-in. You start with the hours your moment demands, adjust them when it changes, and stop when it's no longer needed.
And with our signature: every decision is documented with its why, so the judgement stays in your company and not in our heads. The declared goal is for you to stop needing us - here too.
How it usually starts
Almost always with a one-off review: you tell us the decision in front of you - a supplier's quote, a stack choice, an inherited product nobody can assess - and we analyse it properly.
Out of that comes a short report in business language: what's fine, what isn't, what's urgent and what options you have, with the consequences of each. With that you can decide with judgement - with us or with whoever you choose.
If you then want ongoing support, it's hired as monthly dedication. And if not, the report is yours and no harm done.
When you don't need this
If you already have a CTO or a senior technical partner, you don't need this - at most, a second opinion on a specific decision. And if what you're looking for is someone to write code, what you need is development, not a fractional CTO. We'll tell you just as plainly on the first call: we'd rather lose a job than sell you a service that isn't due.
Price
€70/hour
You hire monthly dedication and adjust it whenever you want. No lock-in, and with public prices - like everything else on this site.
Frequently asked questions
Cost and timing. An in-house CTO is a senior full-time hire, often with equity involved; it makes sense when there's a team and a product to lead daily. A fractional CTO covers the stage before: the same judgement, just the hours you need, without committing to a hire that isn't due yet.
It depends on the moment. A one-off review takes a few hours; ongoing support usually sits between a few hours a week and half a day. It's hired month by month and adjusted as you go.
Yes - and it's what we usually recommend: a review of what's built (or of the quote on your table) with clear conclusions. Then you decide whether you want ongoing support. No strings attached.
Then the role changes: we don't replace your team, we give it a senior second opinion on the big decisions - architecture, priorities, hiring. Teams tend to appreciate having someone to argue those with.
Yes: remotely with clients anywhere in Spain, and in English when needed. Bilbao is the base, not the limit.
Tell us what decision is on your table
We reply within one business day with an honest read: whether you need a fractional CTO, a few hours of review - or nothing at all.