When you need a CTO’s experience, not a full-time CTO
You’re scaling fast in a regulated space, and the architecture decisions are starting to bite — vendor sprawl, compliance findings, an AI roadmap that keeps slipping. But a full-time CTO is months of recruiting for a role you may only need part-time, and a contractor just executes tickets.
A fractional CTO gives you experienced technical leadership immediately: someone who has led engineering, architecture, and data platforms in HIPAA- and GDPR-regulated environments, and who makes the calls that are expensive to get wrong.
What’s included
Architecture decisions & reviews
The high-stakes calls — build vs. buy, platform direction, integration patterns — made and documented.
Vendor selection & de-risking
Cut vendor sprawl, avoid lock-in, and choose tools you can actually own and exit.
Technical strategy & execution
A roadmap tied to business goals, plus hands-on guidance so it actually ships.
Governance for regulated releases
Compliance and audit-readiness designed into how you build, not bolted on later.
A fractional CTO engagement in healthtech
As fractional CTO for a healthtech startup, dataMaven led product definition, architecture, and engineering to bring a research platform from concept to production. The platform serves clinicians and researchers across multiple institutions.
Read the healthtech platform case study →What you walk away with
- A clear technical strategy and prioritized roadmap
- Architecture decision records (the why behind each call)
- Vendor and cost recommendations
- Ongoing reviews and on-call guidance at an agreed cadence
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CTO cost?
A fraction of a full-time CTO: engagements are scoped by days per month and fixed for the term, so the figure is known before we start. The exact number depends on cadence and scope; a 45-minute intro is the fastest way to it.
How many days a month is typical?
Most engagements run between two and six days a month: enough to own the architecture decisions, vendor calls and governance, with the rest of the time in your team’s hands. Cadence is agreed up front and revisited quarterly.
Do you sign a Business Associate Agreement for HIPAA work?
Yes. For engagements that touch protected health information a BAA is standard, and the practice has run engineering, privacy and compliance in HIPAA- and GDPR-regulated environments.
How is this different from a contractor or an agency?
A contractor executes tickets inside an architecture someone else chose. A fractional CTO makes and documents the calls that are expensive to get wrong — build versus buy, platform direction, vendor exit — and leaves decision records your team can act on after the engagement.
Best fit: a healthtech, diagnostics, or regulated-data company scaling fast that needs senior technical leadership but isn’t ready for — or doesn’t need — a full-time CTO.
Book a 45-min intro