Fractional CTO & COO
Senior executive leadership when you need it. Not a recruiter's placeholder -- an operator who has built at scale.
The Problem
Growth-stage companies face a paradox. They need executive-level technology and operational leadership to scale, but they cannot justify -- or afford -- a $400K+ full-time CTO or COO. The gap gets filled in predictable ways, and none of them work well.
The founder keeps the CTO title and spends 60% of their time in code reviews instead of fundraising and sales. A senior engineer gets promoted to "VP of Engineering" but lacks the strategic, financial, and organizational experience to build a technology function. Or the company hires a consultant who writes a strategy deck and disappears.
The result is the same: technical debt accumulates, architecture decisions are made without long-term context, engineering culture develops by accident instead of design, and the company hits a scaling wall at exactly the wrong time.
Our Approach
Our fractional executives are not advisors who attend a monthly board meeting and send an email. They are embedded operators who own outcomes.
A typical fractional CTO engagement includes:
Strategic Direction
- Technology strategy aligned to business goals and fundraising timeline
- Architecture decisions that balance speed-to-market with long-term scalability
- Build vs. buy evaluation for every major platform decision
- Vendor negotiation and technology partnership management
Team Building
- Engineering org design: team topology, reporting structures, career ladders
- Hiring strategy: when to hire senior vs. junior, contractors vs. FTEs, onshore vs. offshore
- Interview process design and candidate evaluation
- Engineering culture: code review practices, incident management, knowledge sharing
Operational Excellence
- DevOps and CI/CD pipeline implementation
- Quality assurance strategy and automated testing frameworks
- Security architecture and compliance programs (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.)
- Cost management: cloud spend optimization, vendor consolidation, technical debt prioritization
Board & Investor Interface
- Technology due diligence preparation for fundraising rounds
- Board-level reporting on engineering metrics, velocity, and technical risk
- M&A technology assessment for acquisitions or exit preparation
- IP documentation and patent strategy
A typical fractional COO engagement adds:
- Operational process design and automation
- Cross-functional workflow optimization
- KPI framework development and accountability structures
- Vendor management and procurement optimization
- Administrative system architecture (HR, finance, legal tech stack)
Engagement Models
Embedded Fractional (2-3 days/week): For companies in active scaling mode. The executive is embedded in the team, attends standups, reviews pull requests, and operates as an integral part of the leadership team. Typical engagement: 6-12 months.
Strategic Fractional (1 day/week): For companies that have a strong technical team but need executive-level guidance on architecture, hiring, and strategy. Weekly deep-dive sessions with asynchronous availability. Typical engagement: 12+ months.
Transition Advisory (project-based): For companies hiring a full-time CTO/COO. We operate in the role during the search, help define the job description, participate in candidate evaluation, and execute a structured handoff. Typical engagement: 3-6 months.
Key Capabilities
- Technology Strategy -- Multi-year roadmaps aligned to business milestones and funding stages
- Architecture Leadership -- Production-grade system design decisions made by someone who has built and operated systems at Fortune 500 scale
- Engineering Organization Design -- Team structures, processes, and culture that attract and retain top talent
- Due Diligence Preparation -- Technology stack assessment, IP documentation, and risk mitigation for fundraising or M&A
- SOC 2 & Compliance -- From zero to audit-ready through a proven, iterative program
- Vendor & Partner Management -- Cloud provider negotiations, technology partner evaluations, and contract optimization
- Board-Level Communication -- Translating technical complexity into business-relevant metrics and risk assessments
Proof Points
- National Claims Processing Platform: Served as fractional technology leadership during critical growth phase. Architected multi-tenant SaaS platform, established engineering processes, and scaled the team from 3 to 12 engineers.
- Top-10 P&C Insurance Carrier (NewCo): Provided executive technology leadership for AI product launch within an established insurance company. Managed the intersection of startup speed and enterprise governance.
- Multiple Growth-Stage Companies: Guided technology due diligence for fundraising rounds totaling $50M+ in combined capital raised.
Why BAG
Our fractional executives have operated at both ends of the spectrum: Fortune 500 enterprises managing billions in assets and early-stage startups racing to product-market fit. That range matters because the best decisions for a growth-stage company require understanding both where you are and where you need to be.
We are not career consultants who advise from the sideline. We are operators who have managed P&Ls, hired and fired, shipped products, survived outages, and navigated board dynamics. We bring that experience to your team without the overhead of a full-time executive hire.
Meet Our Executives -- A 30-minute conversation to understand your current challenges, team structure, and growth stage. We will tell you honestly whether fractional leadership is the right fit or if you need a different solution.