Technical Advisor
Sharp stack, AI, and operating judgment for founder-led teams that do not need a full Fractional CTO seat.
When you need judgment more than a full CTO seat
Some teams are not ready for a Fractional CTO engagement — or already have a technical lead who needs a sparring partner. That is the Technical Advisor path.
You bring a technology decision or a plan that needs a second set of eyes. I challenge the assumptions, assess the options, and give you a recommendation. Your internal owner remains responsible for the decision, implementation, and result.
If you need ownership of the outcome end-to-end, that is Fractional CTO — not this page.
Cadence
Cadence drives where you land in the band:
- 2 × 90-minute sessions per month → toward the high end of the band
- 1 × monthly session + limited async → toward the low end
- Written decision briefs after sessions when useful
- Async between sessions is capped and scoped to active decisions — not unlimited Slack
A three-month initial relationship is preferred. The term is confirmed in your proposal; the Fractional CTO offer has a required three-month initial commitment.
Investment
$3,500–$5,500 per month, depending on cadence. Final quote after a fit call. Always lighter than the Fractional CTO seat ($9,500/mo).
The fee reserves judgment and a named cadence — not a block of billable hours.
What this is
- Recurring advisory sessions on stack, AI, vendors, and operating systems
- Decision support for build-versus-buy and architecture tradeoffs
- Pressure-testing plans before you spend
- Optional written briefs after sessions
What this is not
- A Fractional CTO seat (that lives on /cto/)
- An on-call help desk or outsourced engineering team
- Unlimited Slack access
- Project delivery you expected me to implement alone
Fit
Only with an internal owner who executes.
Best when you have someone who will implement, and you want an embedded advisor to challenge assumptions and keep technology decisions tied to profit.
If you need someone to own the outcome end-to-end, choose Fractional CTO instead.
Next step
The application asks about the decision in front of you, who owns it internally, and what a useful result would look like. I qualify before inviting anyone to a call.