Fractional CTO
Senior technology leadership, sized to what your business actually needs.
A fractional CTO gives you the judgment of an experienced chief technology officer, covering product strategy, architecture, delivery oversight, and vendor and hiring decisions, on a part-time or per-project basis. You get the thinking without the $300k+ salary, which suits startups and SMEs where technology is strategic but a full-time executive isn't justified.
The difference with smartee: your fractional CTO also ships. AI has collapsed the old distance between deciding and building: one experienced lead directing AI agents can now deliver what used to require a full team. So the same person who sets your technical direction writes the specifications, orchestrates the build, and verifies every line before it reaches production.
What's included
- ▪Technology strategy: roadmap, stack and build-vs-buy decisions grounded in your business model, not vendor hype.
- ▪Product leadership: ruthless scoping. What to build, in what order, and what should never be built at all.
- ▪Architecture & specification: designs and specs precise enough for AI agents or human teams to execute without drift.
- ▪Delivery oversight & verification: reviewing what agencies, teams or AI produce, so "done" actually means done.
- ▪Hands-on AI-orchestrated delivery: when there's no team, that's not a blocker. See AI-native product development.
A real example
For Swheeps, a live-racing sweepstakes platform, smartee took over the Azure stack and stepped in as CTO and Head of Product, replacing an entire delivery team with one AI-native technical lead.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a fractional CTO cost?
A full-time CTO in Australia typically costs $250,000-$400,000+ a year before equity. A fractional CTO delivers the same calibre of judgment for a fraction of that, because you only pay for the days or outcomes you need. smartee scopes engagements by outcome: a strategy sprint, a delivery phase, or an ongoing retainer.
What is the difference between a fractional and an interim CTO?
An interim CTO fills the chair full-time while you hire a permanent one. A fractional CTO is a long-term arrangement at partial capacity: ongoing senior leadership sized to what your business actually needs, which for most startups and SMEs is a few days a week or month, not forty hours.
Does a fractional CTO write code?
Traditionally, rarely. At smartee, yes, because AI changed the economics. One experienced technical leader directing AI agents can now ship what used to need a team, so your fractional CTO is also your delivery capability: writing specifications, orchestrating AI-generated code, and verifying everything that ships.
When does a business need a fractional CTO?
When technology decisions are being made without senior technical judgment: choosing a stack or vendor, scoping a product, managing an agency or dev team you cannot evaluate, planning a migration, or working out what AI actually changes for your business. If tech is strategic but a full-time CTO is not justified, fractional fits.