Before an investment round
Technical due diligence on your own product before investors do it, so the questions have good answers ready. Fewer surprises when investors look closely.
Fractional CTO services An experienced CTO in the room, for the decisions that matter.
Fractional technology leadership, roadmaps and technical due diligence. Senior judgment on architecture, vendors, teams and spend, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Big technology decisions, and nobody senior to make them.
Fractional CTO services give your business a senior technology leader for part of each month instead of a full-time hire. For founders, leadership teams and investors, CB Consulting Group provides technology roadmaps, build-or-buy and vendor decisions, technical due diligence and hiring support, with ongoing time on a monthly retainer scoped to what you need.
Which platform to build on. Whether to buy a tool or build your own. Whether the agency’s estimate is sensible. What an investor’s technical questions are really asking. These decisions are expensive to get wrong and slow to undo, and many businesses make them without anyone at the table who has made them before.
A full-time CTO is often more than you need, or more than you can afford yet. CTO advisory gives you that experience for the days you need it, with the reasoning written down so your team can act on it.
What you get.
Advice you can act on, written down, from someone with 25+ years of experience in technology.
- A technology roadmap tied to your business plan, with costs and an order of work
- Build-or-buy and vendor decisions, with the reasoning and trade-offs written down
- Technical due diligence for investment, acquisition or a new partner, in a clear written report
- Architecture and security reviews of what you have, and what it will need as you grow
- Hiring support: role definitions, interviews and onboarding for your first engineers
- Regular sessions with your developers or agency to review plans, estimates and code
How it works.
Start with a short, fixed-scope look at where you are, then carry on only if ongoing support makes sense.
Step 1
Understand the business
We start with your plans, budget and deadlines, then talk to the people building and running your technology today.
Step 2
Review what exists
A look at your systems, code, vendors, costs and team, ending in a written view of what is working, what is at risk and what to do first.
Step 3
Set the direction
A roadmap and the key decisions behind it, agreed with your leadership team, so everyone builds toward the same plan.
Step 4
Stay in the room
Agreed time each month for decisions, reviews, hiring and board or investor conversations, on a monthly retainer, scoped to what you need.
When clients bring us in.
Typical moments where a senior technology view changes the outcome.
A stalled or overrunning build
An independent review of the plan, the estimate and the code, and a realistic path to finishing. A build back on track, with a date the team believes.
Choosing a platform or vendor
A side-by-side comparison against your real needs, with the costs over the next few years and a clear recommendation. A decision made once, with the reasons on record.
Hiring your first engineers
Defining the roles, running the technical interviews and setting up the ways of working your new team will need. First hires who settle in quickly.
Who it’s for.
Teams facing a technology decision that is too important to make alone. We work remotely with US businesses, UK businesses and clients worldwide.
Founders before their first CTO hire
A senior technical partner to choose the architecture, scope the first version and talk to investors, until you are ready to hire, and then help you hire well.
Leadership teams facing a big decision
A new platform, a major vendor contract, an acquisition or a rebuild. An independent view before you commit the budget.
Investors and acquirers
Technical due diligence on a target company: what the technology is really worth, where the risks are and what it will cost to fix them.
Questions about fractional CTO services.
For pricing and general questions, see the services overview.
What does “fractional CTO” actually mean?
A senior technology leader for part of each month instead of full time. You get the same judgment on roadmaps, architecture, vendors and hiring, for the days you need it, on a monthly retainer, scoped to what you need.
Who will we work with?
Chirag, the founder, who brings 25+ years of experience in technology. You work with the person giving the advice, not an account manager passing notes along.
Can you work with our existing developers or agency?
Yes, and that is often the point. We review their plans, estimates and code, fill the senior gaps and help them make good decisions. The aim is to make your team stronger, not to replace it.
What does a technical due diligence cover?
Typically the architecture, code quality, security, hosting and costs, the team and its key-person risks, and the roadmap. You get a written report with findings ranked by risk, and what each would cost to fix, typically within a few weeks.
When should we hire a full-time CTO instead?
When technology decisions fill most of the week and you have a team that needs daily leadership. Until then, advisory is usually the better use of budget, and we’ll tell you honestly when it is time to hire, then help you find the right person.
What is CTO as a service?
CTO as a service is another name for fractional CTO support: senior technology leadership you use for agreed time each month rather than hiring full time. It covers roadmaps, architecture, vendor and build-or-buy decisions, hiring and investor conversations, on a monthly retainer scoped to what you need, usually starting with a short, fixed-scope review.
Fractional CTO vs development agency: which do I need?
They do different jobs, and you may need both. A development agency builds the software. A fractional CTO decides what should be built, checks the agency’s plans, estimates and code, and keeps the technology tied to your business plan. If you already have an agency or developers, a fractional CTO makes them stronger rather than replacing them.
Talk through the decision in front of you with a fractional CTO.
A 30-minute call with a senior technologist. No slides, no hard sell.