Fractional CTO Services
COFEBE provides fractional CTO services for venture-backed startups, growth-stage companies and private equity–backed businesses. Engagements are led by James Williams, founder and CEO of COFEBE and former CTO of Veritone and Teletrac, based in Corona, California. You get executive-level technology leadership (strategy, architecture, hiring and engineering management) through a defined engagement, without the cost of a full-time CTO.
Who Needs a Fractional CTO?
Venture-backed startups
From seed to Series B, investors expect a credible technology plan. We build the roadmap and engineering budget, and we lead technical due diligence and investor meetings.
Growth-stage companies
Your engineering team is growing faster than its leadership. We put in place the org structure, hiring plan, KPIs and delivery practices that let it scale.
Private equity and M&A
Technology due diligence before a deal and integration after it. James led Teletrac's technology through its acquisition by a Fortune 200 company.
Companies between CTOs
When a technology leader leaves, we provide interim leadership, keep the team shipping and help you hire the permanent replacement.
Platforms struggling to scale
Outages, slow releases and runaway cloud bills. We bring architecture, cloud infrastructure and production expertise from running platforms at scale.
CEOs with major outsourced builds
If you're spending heavily on agencies or offshore teams, you need an executive on your side who reviews the architecture and holds vendors accountable.
What Our Fractional CTO Service Includes
- Technology advice and strategy
- Technology architecture
- Product roadmap
- 12-month technology roadmap
- Engineering budget
- Engineering KPIs
- Code reviews
- Hiring plan
- Team performance reviews
- Cloud infrastructure management
- Production support
- Strategic investor meetings
- Scheduled leadership meetings
- Office hours
How an Engagement Works
1. Assess
We review your product, codebase, team, vendors and cloud costs, then agree on the business outcomes that matter most.
2. Plan
You get a 12-month technology roadmap, a hiring plan, an engineering budget and KPIs your board and investors can follow.
3. Lead
We run scheduled leadership meetings and office hours, review code and architecture, and support production for as long as you need us.
Fractional CTO Pricing
Most engagements range from $50,000 to $150,000.
What determines the price:
- Duration of the engagement and time commitment each month
- Size of your engineering team and the number of vendors involved
- Fundraising, board and technical due diligence support
- Engineering hiring, including recruiting a full-time CTO
- Hands-on architecture, code review and production support
Book a consultation to scope your engagement.
Fractional CTO vs. Full-Time CTO
| Fractional CTO (COFEBE) | Full-time CTO | |
|---|---|---|
| Commitment | Defined engagement | Permanent executive hire |
| Cost | Engagements from $50,000 | Executive salary, equity and benefits |
| Best for | Companies that need senior technology judgment now | Companies with a large engineering organization to run |
| Bench | Backed by COFEBE's engineering and UX/UI design team | One person |
Results From Our Technology Leadership
CloudLogics: liquid immersion cloud
Built CloudLogics' cloud platform on liquid immersion–cooled infrastructure.
Trident1: firearms retail point of sale
Redeveloped Trident1's point-of-sale system for federal firearms licensees (FFLs).
Mortgage lending
For a private mortgage company, we built a UX team and integrated the lender's platform with its loan origination system and the Optimal Blue pricing engine, so loan officers price and process loans in a single product.
Aerospace / inflight entertainment
We assembled a C++ triage team and built a simulator that found the memory leaks behind costly airline penalties. The client stopped paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly fines.
Cloud computing
For a cloud provider competing with the hyperscalers, we stood up a cloud-native professional services and support team to onboard customers.
Fractional CTO FAQ
What is a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is an experienced chief technology officer who works with a company part-time, on a recurring schedule, instead of as a full-time employee. The company gets senior technology leadership (strategy, architecture, hiring and engineering management) for a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive.
How much does a fractional CTO cost at COFEBE?
COFEBE's fractional CTO engagements start at $50,000. Most engagements range from $50,000 to $150,000, depending on duration, time commitment, team size and scope, such as fundraising and due diligence support, engineering hiring or hands-on architecture work.
When does a company need a fractional CTO?
Common triggers are: preparing for a fundraise or technical due diligence, scaling an engineering team faster than its leadership, an acquisition or post-acquisition integration, a platform that is struggling to scale, a large outsourced development budget that needs oversight, or a gap after a CTO departs.
What is the difference between a fractional CTO and a full-time CTO?
A full-time CTO is a permanent executive with salary, equity and benefits. A fractional CTO provides the same strategic leadership part-time through a defined engagement, with no long-term hiring commitment, which suits companies that need executive-level technology judgment before they can justify a full-time hire.
Who leads COFEBE's fractional CTO engagements?
Engagements are led by James Williams, founder and CEO of COFEBE, a software engineering and design firm based in Corona, California.
Can a fractional CTO help us hire a full-time CTO later?
Yes. COFEBE engagements include a hiring plan and team performance reviews, and can include defining the full-time CTO role, interviewing candidates and handing over to them.
