Use Cases for Hiring Fractional CTOs and Benefits: What We’re Seeing
The Fractional Chief Technology Officer (CTO) role has been in highest demand since we've launched solace earlier this year. It's been an emerging trend for the last couple years amongst early-stage start-ups (pre-seed to Series A) and established businesses looking to develop new digital products or digitize large aspects of their operations.
The role looks quite different based on the size and stage of the business it's operating within however the benefits resonate regardless. Fractional CTOs for early-stage start-ups are typically either developing the product and tech stack themselves or coordinating with cross-functional teams (e.g. product, sales, etc.) to identify tech requirements to then lead / hire a team of developers to build. More established businesses tend to bring on a fractional CTO to transform how a business uses technology to create competitive advantages and win in its respective market.
Ultimately, there are a few recurring fractional CTO uses cases that we're seeing most relevant in the Canadian start-up and business community that we anticipate becoming more and more popular:
Team-up with Non-Technical Co-Founders/Leaders: Founders/leaders who have a great business idea or product that they'd like to build and launch but don't have the technical / coding skillset no longer have to stress about finding a technical co-founder. With partners like Solace they're a few minutes away from connecting with someone that can help bring their idea to life.
Early-Stage Developers May Not Want to Step Into C-Suite: Many developers love coding and would rather continue to code as the start-up grows rather than assume a leadership and people management role. In these instances we see fractional CTOs step in to lead existing developers while planning a path forward re: hiring the right people and technical leaders for the future.
Audit Tech Stack and Operations Prior to Acquisition: Business acquisition due diligence is a tough process. Fractional CTOs are being brought in to provide a third-party perspective and audit a business' tech stack and operations to iron out any wrinkles that may make potential deals fall apart.
We've witnessed a few benefits realized from those hiring fractional CTOs in the above uses cases and elsewhere (not including the general benefits of hiring a fractional executive or professional we previously spoke about here). The top benefits include:
Keep Your Equity: Bring your idea or product to life without giving up equity in your company or paying too much for a full-time CTO.
Translator of Technical Verbiage to Business Lingo and Vice Versa: Become more comfortable and have more trust in the technical aspects of your business by having someone translate your business needs into the right technical language developers require to bring your idea or product to life and vice versa.
Turn Existing Developers Into People Leaders: Fractional CTOs can't only take a team of 10 developers and scale them to a team of 150, but can also tap into their experience to advise and coach those willing to learn to become leaders driving tangible and intangible value to the business long after the fractional CTO is gone.
Confidence in a Strong and Realistic Product Roadmap: Establish confidence amongst your team, investors, and clients by having an experienced fractional CTO advise you on a realistic but efficient path forward to bring the technical aspects of your idea / product to life.
Hiring a fractional CTO can help you navigate the daunting nature of technology, keeping your company organized, and ahead of the curve while you focus on the parts of your business that you're good at.
