Outsourced CTO
Outsourced CTO services, scoped to what your business actually needs
Hiring a full-time CTO means a six-month search, a $300K to $500K package, and a bet that one executive fits a role your company may only need ten hours a week. Outsourcing the CTO function gets you the same leadership as a service, sized to the workload you actually have.
This model fits established small and mid-sized businesses, the manufacturers, distributors, and service companies with real revenue and real technology problems. Somebody has to own the website, the systems, the vendors, and the roadmap. For most of these companies that somebody works ten hours a week, and payroll never needs to know.
One thing worth knowing about this market: most outsourced CTO firms are staffing agencies wrapping offshore teams in an executive title. I'm one senior operator who makes the decisions and does the critical builds personally.
What you're outsourcing to me
The technology P&L
Every subscription, license, agency retainer, and hosting bill audited. Most clients fund the engagement from what we cut.
Systems ownership
Website, CRM, email, integrations, and data owned end-to-end by one accountable person.
Vendor & agency management
Quotes sanity-checked, contracts negotiated, deliverables verified by someone who knows what the work actually costs.
Roadmap & execution
A quarterly technology plan tied to revenue, and I execute it hands-on.
Proof, not promises
For one mid-sized manufacturer with no internal IT leadership, the web platform I own end-to-end is credited by the client with $23M in sales pipeline, without a single cold call.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from hiring an MSP? +
An MSP keeps your laptops running. An outsourced CTO decides where technology money goes, owns revenue-facing systems like your website and CRM, and manages the MSP along with every other vendor.
What does an outsourced CTO cost? +
A scoped monthly retainer, typically a fraction of the ~$25,000+/month a full-time CTO costs all-in. Most engagements start under 20% of that, and the first vendor audit usually finds immediate savings.
We already have an IT person. Do we still need this? +
Often, yes. IT staff keep systems running but rarely set strategy, negotiate vendor contracts, or build revenue systems. I work above and alongside your existing IT resource.
Related services
Hire the judgment and the hands in one place.
Start with the Technology Reality Audit: two weeks, one fixed fee, fully credited if you take a seat. You keep the 12-month roadmap either way.