Fractional CTO for startups and growing companies
I'm Shane Stebner. As your fractional CTO, I make the technical calls with you, from choosing the architecture to hiring the team, part time, until you need a full-time CTO.
- Pricing
- $250 an hour, or a monthly retainer
- Where
- South Florida or remote
What I take on
Architecture and tools
Choose a design and a set of tools that fit your budget and the team you have.
Roadmap
Decide what to build first, what to buy instead, and what can wait.
Hiring
Write the roles, run technical interviews, and vet agencies and contractors before you sign.
Vendor oversight
Keep contractors and agencies on track, and review the work they deliver.
Reviews and rescues
Find out what you have, then fix it or rebuild it, whichever costs less.
AI strategy
Decide where AI belongs in your product and your team, and where it doesn't.
Who it's for
- Founders without a technical co‑founder.
- Companies with developers or an agency, but no senior technical leader.
- Leaders who want a second opinion before a big technical decision.
I keep things simple. If an off-the-shelf tool does the job, I'll tell you before you pay anyone to build it.
How we'd work together
- Advisory
- A few hours a month for decisions, reviews and questions.
- $250 an hour
- Part-time CTO
- Time reserved for you each week for planning, hiring and oversight.
- Monthly retainer
- One project
- A single piece of work, such as an architecture plan or a code review.
- Estimated up front
From my recent work
- From an idea to a product ready to sell
- For an AI data startup, I designed the product roadmap, found strategic partners, and oversaw the build from nothing to beta testing and demos for enterprise CEOs.
Common questions
- What does a fractional CTO do?
- The same job as a full-time CTO, for fewer hours: make technical decisions, plan the roadmap, hire and oversee developers, and explain technical trade-offs to the rest of the business.
- How much does a fractional CTO cost?
- Advisory work is $250 an hour. Ongoing part-time CTO work is a monthly retainer for time reserved each week, and one-off projects get a written estimate. We agree on the time or scope up front, and I check with you before going over.
- Do you work for equity?
- I work for cash. In exceptional cases, I'll consider taking part of my pay as equity, but not in place of cash.
- When does a fractional CTO make more sense than a full-time one?
- When you need senior technical judgment but not 40 hours a week of it: before you hire your first developers, while you're choosing an agency, or when your team has outgrown its first architecture.
- Can you help me hire developers?
- Yes. I can write the job description, run technical interviews and review candidates' work, or check an agency's proposal before you sign it.
- Will you also write code?
- If you want me to. Some clients only need leadership. Others want me to build the first version too, which I cover under MVP development. About MVP development
- Do you work in person?
- Yes. I meet clients across Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. I also work remotely with companies anywhere. Working with me in South Florida
- Will you sign an NDA?
- Yes. I'm happy to sign a standard NDA before you share the details.
How we get started
Tell me about it
Send a few sentences about your company and what you need.
I'll ask questions
About your goals, team and timeline. Answering them often sharpens the plan on its own.
Free call
If it looks like a good fit, we flesh out the plan together on a free call. If a simpler fix exists, or I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you.
Agree on the plan
We put the hours, length and goals in writing. For a one-off project, I send an estimate instead.
Get started
After the first payment, we get to work. I check with you before going over the hours we agreed.
Tell me what you're working on.
A few sentences is enough. I'll reply within one business day with questions or a next step.