Technology leadership that scales with your company - not against it.
Fractional CTO for companies that need senior technology leadership without the full-time overhead. Engineering org, technical roadmap, hiring, and the architecture decisions that determine whether you can grow.
When a fractional CTO makes sense
Not every stage needs a full-time CTO. Most need the judgment without the overhead.
Pre-seed to Series A
You need senior technical leadership but cannot justify a $400K+ FTE. A fractional CTO gives you the judgment without the overhead - and helps you hire the right full-time person when the time comes.
Between CTOs
Your last CTO left and you need continuity. Keep the engineering org functioning, preserve institutional knowledge, and avoid a chaotic search while things are on fire.
Specific technical inflection
A major architectural pivot, a platform migration, an AI integration initiative, or a security audit. Bring in senior leadership for the hard part and right-size from there.
Investor or board requirement
Investors want technical credibility before the next round. A fractional CTO bridges the gap while you find the right permanent hire.
Why fractional makes sense right now
Most companies need senior technology leadership. Most can't justify the full-time cost, risk, or timeline.
| FTE CTO | Fractional (Justin) | |
|---|---|---|
| Total comp | $350,000 - $600,000+ | Scales with actual need |
| Time to start | 3-6 month search + notice period | Engaged within weeks |
| Overhead | Equity, benefits, recruiting fees | None |
| Flexibility | Full-time headcount, fixed scope | Adjusts as company evolves |
| Risk | Wrong CTO = 12-18 months wasted | Disengage without severance |
| Right for | Series B+ with stable technical direction | Seed to Series A, transitions, or specific problems |
What a fractional CTO actually does
Concrete responsibilities, not advisory theater.
Technology roadmap and strategy
A sequenced, prioritized technology plan tied to your business goals - not a wish list. What to build now, what to defer, and what to stop doing.
Engineering org design and hiring
Structuring the team for where you are and where you are going. Hiring criteria, interview frameworks, onboarding, and the culture that retains senior engineers.
Technical debt and architecture decisions
Knowing which debt to pay down and when. Guiding the architectural inflection points that determine whether you can scale - before they become emergencies.
Security, compliance, and risk
Security posture, compliance requirements, vendor risk, and the engineering practices that keep you out of the news. Built into the process, not bolted on after.
AI integration and product direction
Evaluating where AI actually adds value in your product. Build vs. buy decisions, LLM vendor selection, agent architecture, and what your competitors are about to do.
Board and investor technical credibility
Translating your technical reality for boards, investors, and acquirers. Architecture reviews, due diligence support, and the technical narrative that builds confidence.
Why Justin specifically
Proof over positioning.
IC to CEO and back to shipping code
Started as a developer. Moved through engineering management, principal engineer, Sr. Director at Microsoft, and GM of a 200-person technology organization. Now back to building full-stack every day at GetLatest AI. That arc means the strategic and the tactical are not separate disciplines - they are the same job.
Built and led a 200-person engineering org through transformation
As GM at Crayon US, rebuilt the entire organization from a licensing reseller into an AI/ML managed services provider. New practices, new hiring profiles, new service delivery, new culture. P&L went from $43M to $51M. That is what CTO-level organizational leadership looks like at scale.
Shipping AI in production today - not advising from theory
Snappy Agents is a live, multi-tenant AI agent platform with paying enterprise customers. Multi-agent coordination, MCP integrations, Docker-based tenant isolation, centralized OAuth, human-in-the-loop approval architecture. Every CTO recommendation comes from what is actually working in production right now.
Technical depth across the full Microsoft and cloud stack
Azure MCSE certified. AWS hands-on since 2008. GCP Vertex AI. Two decades of language depth across C#/.NET, Python, TypeScript, and Java. That breadth means vendor-agnostic recommendations - not attachment to whatever I last sold.
Education and credentials
What people say about the leadership
From direct reports and colleagues across engineering, AI strategy, and executive leadership.
His technical depth and thought leadership in Artificial Intelligence enables him to work with the technical talent on his teams in a capacity that is highly effective and impactful. I could not recommend Justin more highly as an incredible asset to any organization.
Lauren Tran
Chief Architect @ Microsoft, Office of the CTO
Reported directly to Justin
People work harder for Justin because of how he curates performance and career success. His leadership style is thoughtful, prescriptive, direct, and relatable to both buyers and employees to drive momentum, loyalty, and big results. I would work for him for the rest of my career if the privilege presented itself because he's earned it.
Tara DarConte
AI & Cloud Acceleration
Reported directly to Justin
Justin is one of the most brilliant business minds I have ever met. He has a knack for knowing how to maximize business opportunities that come his way. In addition to his business acumen, he also has incredible knowledge of technology, software, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Having spent time as a talented software engineer, Justin knows and understands the details of how to apply technology in ways others just don't comprehend.
Tony Spencer
C# Cowboy | Software Engineer
Worked on the same team
Career evidence
From first commit to P&L leadership - and back to shipping code.
- ›Architecting and shipping Snappy Agents: production multi-agent AI platform with paying enterprise customers.
- ›Full-stack technical leadership - product vision, system design, daily coding, and go-to-market.
- ›GetLatest AI consulting: fractional technology leadership for companies navigating AI adoption.
- ›Led a 200-person technology org through a full business model transformation.
- ›Built AI/ML, Data, and M365 managed services practices from scratch: hiring, partner certifications, service catalog, pricing, and delivery playbooks.
- ›$43M to $51M P&L. 200% increase in new customer acquisition. Lifted services margin from -28% to +64%.
- ›Set AI/ML and data strategy across Microsoft's US partner ecosystem: thousands of independent companies, none of whom reported to me.
- ›30+ AI enablement initiatives. $1.5M in initiative funding converted to $25M+ in partner revenue. Accelerated technical adoption 15x and platform adoption velocity 63%.
- ›Partners, solutions, and expertise grew 10-20x over four years.
- ›Enterprise architecture advisory for Azure migrations at scale.
- ›Built the Azure SQL DTU Calculator - used by Microsoft field and partners.
- ›Architected Cloud Center of Excellence reference patterns adopted across the partner ecosystem.
- ›Led engineering teams building massively distributed systems for global data center infrastructure.
- ›Architecture decisions at the hardware and software boundary.
How engagements work
Project-based monthly retainers. Scoped to your situation.
Technology conversation
30 minutes to understand your current technical state, where the gaps are, and what leadership you actually need. No pitch deck. If there's a fit, we scope it together.
Scoped engagement
Clear deliverables, defined scope, and a monthly retainer. Whether that is roadmap development, engineering org work, or ongoing CTO coverage - you know exactly what you're getting.
Monthly retainer
Ongoing engagement billed monthly. Adjust scope as the company evolves. No severance, no long-term lock-in - disengage or transition to a full-time hire when the time is right.
Let's figure out if there's a fit
30 minutes to understand your technology challenges and current state. No pitch. No obligation.
Book a strategy conversation