Fractional CTO for an SMB: what it actually involves and what it costs

Fractional CTO is a name that sounds good and explains little. In practice: your company's head of technology, part-time, without hiring one full-time. I do it for EcoToGo, an e-commerce in Trentino, and here I describe what it means concretely, because most pages on this topic were written by people selling the service without ever having done it.

What I do in a week

Everything technical goes through me. That means an alignment call with the owner, the small daily fixes on the shop, a look at the logs of the script sending orders to logistics. But it also means the decisions a small company puts off for years because nobody inside has the skills to make them: which hosting for the custom tools, which email, whether and when to change ERP. For EcoToGo I'm following the evaluation of Odoo as the new ERP, and that isn't a line of code, it's a comparison of costs, integrations and risks.

The part nobody puts in brochures: saying no. No to a plugin that fixes today and costs maintenance for three years. No to an agency proposing a full rebuild when the product page needs fixing. A CTO matters most when someone outside is trying to sell you something.

What it costs

I work on quotes, and the Fractional CTO comes as a monthly fee based on the time dedicated. I don't publish a price list because a company with one shop and one ERP doesn't have the same needs as one with three warehouses and an in-house team. A flat price for everyone would be dishonest in one direction or the other: either you overpay for something simple, or I underestimate something complex.

What drives the fee, in order: how many hours a week are really needed, how many systems have to be held together, whether there's development to do beyond the decisions. The right comparison isn't with a day-rate consultant but with the cost of a senior technical employee who would, however, only be working 20% of their time.

When it makes no sense

• –If you want someone who only does slides and strategy without building anything. I develop, and the value is that the person deciding is the same one who then works in the code.
• –If you already have an in-house technical team with a lead. There you need a consultant on a specific topic, not an extra CTO.
• –If the problem is just "we need a website". That's a project with a start and an end, and it's quoted as such.

How it starts

A free 30-minute call where you tell me what isn't working. Then a short phase where I look at what you have: platform, ERP, who does what. From there comes a quote with hours and fee. I work remotely across Italy; in Trentino-Alto Adige I also come in person. I'm not an agency: I answer, I do the work.

Book the call or read how it went with EcoToGo before deciding.