Hire a senior CTO
Between €90,000 and €130,000 a year, plus equity and payroll costs. A budget you don't have — and won't have until your next round.
CTO partnership — sweat equity
A senior CTO by your side, paid in equity — not vague promises.
Fractional technical direction for early-stage startups — structured commitment, clean legal mechanism, aligned interests.
- 10+ years freelance CTO/CPO
- Market-rate invoicing + equity conversion
- Systematic vesting + shareholders' agreement
- Deliberately limited portfolio
Founder-to-founder, no sugarcoating
You're early-stage. You don't have €100,000 a year for a senior CTO. The « free technical co-founder » doesn't exist — or when it does, it ends badly. You want a tech partner who actually commits, within a clear legal framework that protects everyone. That's exactly what's on offer here.
The real cost of a missing CTO
Three usual ways to solve « we need a senior CTO », and why they don't work when you have neither the cash nor a full team.
Find a technical co-founder
Rare. Often risky: informal deal, no framework, no vesting. When it breaks, the cap table is broken and future rounds become impossible.
Go through an agency
Executes cleanly, but doesn't carry your product, your strategic choices, or your long-term tech trajectory. It's not a partner.
The mechanism, in 4 steps
No informal barter, no « free co-founder ». A clean legal mechanism, validated on both sides, that leaves a clean cap table behind.
- Step 1
We work together
Real fractional CTO mission: architecture, roadmap, tech hiring, cybersecurity, AI. Invoiced at market rate, with a clear contractual framework.
- Step 2
The receivable accrues
You don't pay out (or very little) — the invoices form a receivable against your company. Your cash stays allocated to what has to burn cash: product, acquisition, team.
- Step 3
Conversion into equity
At agreed milestones or deadlines, the receivable is converted into shares via a capital increase by debt compensation. Legally framed, documented, validated by your advisors and mine.
- Step 4
Long-term alignment
Vesting with cliff, shareholders' agreement, exit clauses — all written down before day one. Everyone knows the rules of the game from start to finish.
Why this mechanism rather than an informal deal
Full accounting and legal traceability. Two distinct and negotiated valuations: the service on one side, the share valuation on the other. Protection for both parties. Clean cap table for future rounds — an informal arrangement backfires against the startup during due diligence.
What you get
Strategy & technical architecture
Stack choices, architecture, roadmap, build vs buy calls. A technical direction that holds through rounds and pivots.
MVP framing & delivery
Prioritization, iterations, measurement. An MVP that learns fast rather than a first product that grows without direction.
Stack, debt & scalability
Stack choices aligned with your stage and objectives. Anticipating debt and scale without over-engineering.
Hiring & tech structuring
First-hire profile definition, sourcing, interviews, onboarding. Setting up rituals and processes when they become useful.
Cybersecurity & GDPR from day one
Security and compliance posture built into the architecture — not bolted on in panic before the first due diligence.
Due diligence & AI strategy
Preparing the technical due diligence for rounds, answering VC questions. AI/agents strategy aligned with your product, not with trends.
The framework & application criteria
Portfolio deliberately limited to a handful of startups in parallel. Not every application is accepted — not out of elitism, but out of real capacity to commit.
- Early-stage startup (idea validated to pre-seed/seed), founders full-time or on the verge of being so.
- A real tech or product topic where a senior CTO changes the trajectory — not just « dev to be done ».
- Openness to formalize: shareholders' agreement, vesting with cliff, exit clauses. No exception.
- Willingness to consider a cash/equity mix if it's healthier for both sides — 100% equity is not the only option.
- Every setup goes through your lawyers and accountants, and mine, before signature.
Founders looking for « just a free dev » aren't the target. A senior tech partner commits within a framework — or not at all.
How to apply
- Step 1
You apply
A few minutes via the form to pitch your project, your team and your CTO need.
- Step 2
Qualification call
A call to understand project, team, ambition and check mutual fit before going further.
- Step 3
Proposal & structuring
Mission volume, format (equity or hybrid), valuations, vesting and clauses defined with your advisors and mine.
- Step 4
Signature & start
Shareholders' agreement signed, then we build. First invoices, the receivable starts to accrue.
Frequently asked questions
No. The CTO service is invoiced at market rate, then the receivable is converted into equity through a legally-framed mechanism — capital increase by debt compensation. Two distinct and negotiated valuations: the value of the service on one side, the share valuation on the other.
It depends on the mission volume (actual CTO days) and the valuation agreed with the founders. Everything is fixed contractually before start. No standard percentage is displayed — each partnership is studied case by case.
Systematic vesting with cliff: shares are acquired progressively over time. Exit clauses (good/bad leaver) are written into the shareholders' agreement before day one. Each party leaves with what matches their actual engagement.
No — the model is fractional (days per week or per month defined in the contract). However, I can structure the tech team and prepare the recruitment of your future in-house CTO when a fundraise allows it.
Yes, when properly structured — that's precisely the point of the shareholders' agreement and a clean cap table. I also prepare technical due diligence. A documented mechanism reassures investors; an informal deal backfires during due dil.
Yes — and it's often healthier for both parties. A reduced cash amount covers operating costs, the rest is converted into equity. You preserve your runway, I keep long-term skin in the game.
Think you check the boxes?
Apply in a few minutes. Reply within five business days. If there's a fit, we set up a qualification call.
Every partnership is subject to prior legal and accounting validation, by your advisors and mine.