# A fractional CTO who also has the team to build it. Source: https://bluecoastwater.com/services/fractional-cto Most small businesses do not need a full-time CTO. They need someone senior to make the technical calls, keep vendors honest and say no to the wrong project, and then a team that ships what was decided. That is how we work. ## Who it is for - An owner making software and AI decisions without anyone technical on their side of the table. - A business paying several vendors and agencies with no one checking that the pieces fit. - A company about to hire developers, buy a platform or start an AI project, and wanting a second opinion first. ## What we do ### Make the technical calls Architecture, platforms, build or buy, which AI to use and where: decided with you, written down with the reasons, so the next person understands them. ### Own the vendors Read the contracts and the bills, review agencies' work, and keep cloud, AI and software spend in check. ### Keep the systems safe Access, backups, security patches and audit trails across everything the business runs, checked, not assumed. ### Plan the roadmap What to build next and why, in the order that pays, with the business goals in the room. ### Then build it Unlike an advisor alone, we have the senior team to build and run what is decided: software, AI, hosting and admin, under one person accountable. ## How it starts 1. A conversation: With the founder: where the business is, what it runs on, what decision is coming. 2. A read: The systems, the vendors and the bills, and a written view of where you stand. 3. A monthly role: Regular time with the founder, on a retainer, with the team behind it when work needs doing. ## Proof - Thirty years of building: The founder has shipped for the web since 1996: media platforms for household-name titles, five years of clinical-trial disclosure software, AI image tagging before the boom, and a compliance portal still in service. (https://bluecoastwater.com/about) - Build & Run: The model most clients choose: one person accountable for the system, a team that builds it and keeps it running. (https://bluecoastwater.com/services#engage) - Taking over what is there: When the first job is to understand and stabilize what a business already runs. (https://bluecoastwater.com/services/software-takeovers) ## What we do not do - We do not sell slides. Advice comes with the ability to deliver it. - We do not make decisions you cannot follow. Each one is written down with its reasons, in your hands. - We do not replace a full-time CTO when a business truly needs one; we help you hire one when that day comes. ## Questions ### What is a fractional CTO? A senior technical leader who works with a business part of the time, on a retainer, instead of as a full-time hire. ### Who would we work with? The founder, Philip Radvan, directly. The senior team does the building and running. ### Can you work with our existing developers or agency? Yes. Often the job is to direct and review existing vendors, and to step in only where something needs fixing. ### Do you help with AI decisions? Yes. Which AI is worth it, where it touches your data, what it costs to run, and what it must never see. We build AI into running systems every day. ### How is this different from a consultant? A consultant hands over a report. We make the call with you and, when you want, our team builds and runs it, so the advice has to work in practice. ### When does a business outgrow a fractional CTO? When technology is the product and a full-time team needs a leader every day. We will say so, and help you write the role and hire for it. ### What does it cost? A monthly retainer, quoted by the founder after the first conversation, in writing. There is no price list on the site. ## Related - https://bluecoastwater.com/services/software-takeovers - https://bluecoastwater.com/services/software-support-after-launch - https://bluecoastwater.com/about ## Contact - Email: hello@bluecoastwater.com (read by the founder) - Write or book 30 minutes: https://bluecoastwater.com/contact - No prices are published: the founder quotes in writing after the first conversation.