Pillar 02 — Advise
Strategic clarity from people who've held the seat.
Most companies your size don't have a CTO. The owner makes the technology calls anyway. We put a leader who's done the job beside you — so every decision gets checked by someone qualified to check it.
When to call us
Your team brings you a technology decision. Can anyone in the room verify it's the right call?
Most $10M–$150M companies grew up without a CTO, and at some point the technology function landed on the owner's desk by default. Vendor contracts, platform bets, a rebuild the dev team swears is necessary — approved by someone with no way to check the work. We've written about what that gap actually costs. It doesn't show up as one big failure. It shows up as drag, compounding for years.
A fractional leader fixes the decision-quality problem without the search, salary, or risk of a full-time executive hire. Our people have run engineering orgs, owned budgets, and lived with the consequences of their own architecture calls. They work as player-coaches: they tell your team how deep and what direction to dig, then grab a shovel and dig alongside them.
And advisory doesn't mean visiting. At Lucid Hearing, our advisory CTO, COO, and VP of Engineering embedded for years — turning a hearing aid manufacturer into a customer-data technology company while Lucid's own team learned to run the platform.
The goal is alignment: business strategy, product roadmap, and engineering work telling the same story. When they do, you stop guessing.
Engagement modes
Pick the level of involvement that fits.
Not sure which? The six-question fractional-fit assessment is an honest filter — including the answer "you don't need us."
Fractional
Fractional CTO / CPO
Part of every week, embedded in your leadership team. We own the technology direction, run the cadence, and answer for outcomes — not just opinions.
Advisory
Strategic advisor
A few hours a month at the CEO/board level. We pre-read the proposals crossing your desk, push back on weak claims, and prep you for hard rooms.
Coaching
Executive & team coaching
One-on-one with leaders who are stepping up, or with a leadership team that's not yet running like one. Practical, direct, no fluff.
Quick filter first
Not sure if fractional is the right call?
Take the six-question quiz — five minutes, no email required up front. You'll get an honest read on whether a fractional executive is what you actually need.