Fractional CTO / CPO
Product and technology leadership, from someone who also writes the cheque.
A fractional CTO is an experienced technology executive who leads engineering and technical strategy part-time rather than as a full-time hire — owning architecture, technical risk and the roadmap, not advising on them.
I do that work as an operator who invests. Founders get someone who has shipped data and membership products at Netflix; investors get someone who runs diligence on the same decisions from the other side of the table.
Engagement examples
What Fractional Leadership Can Look Like
01
Growth-Stage AI Company
Embedded fractional leadership during a critical growth period.
- ◆Product, technology + AI strategy
- ◆Hands-on execution alongside the team
- ◆Operating systems built for the next stage
Fractional CTO/CPO · Multi-month engagement
02
Enterprise AI Readiness
Helping leadership understand whether the organization is actually ready to scale AI.
- ◆Technology + AI ecosystem assessment
- ◆Governance, standards + organizational readiness
- ◆Prioritized adoption roadmap
Assessment → Fractional Leadership
03
Critical Product or Technology Initiative
Senior leadership when an important initiative cannot wait for the permanent hire.
- ◆Rapid strategic and technical assessment
- ◆Executive-level ownership + hands-on delivery
- ◆Internal capability built for the long term
Project-Based → Fractional CTO/CPO
What the role owns
Decisions, not recommendations.
A consultant recommends and leaves. A fractional CTO decides and is accountable for what happens next.
Roadmap
What gets built, in what order, and what gets cut.
Architecture
The systems the roadmap depends on, and the debt it inherits.
AI & agent systems
Where humans, software, models and agents each operate.
Technical risk
What could break the company, named before it does.
Team
Hiring shape, decision rights, and the cadence work actually runs on.
Board communication
Translating technical reality into decisions the board can make.
Common questions
What people ask first.
- What is a fractional CTO?
- A fractional CTO is an experienced technology executive who leads a company's engineering and technical strategy part-time, typically one to three days a week, instead of as a full-time hire. They own architecture, technical risk, and the roadmap rather than advising on them.
- How is a fractional CTO different from a consultant?
- A consultant recommends; a fractional CTO decides and is accountable for the outcome. The engagement includes ownership of technical decisions, direct work with the team, and board-level communication — not a report handed over at the end.
- When does a company need a fractional CTO rather than a full-time one?
- When the technical decisions are consequential but the engineering organization is not yet large enough to occupy a full-time executive, or when a company needs senior judgment during a transition, a diligence process, or a modernization it has not run before.
- Does B. work with investors as well as founders?
- Yes. B. founded DVRGNT Ventures in 2022 (Fund I filed with the SEC in 2023) and takes technical and strategic diligence engagements for investors, alongside operating work inside portfolio and non-portfolio companies.
Fractional CTO / CPO