We will be your fractional CTO
Finding a CTO is tough; they're the real unicorns. On top of being technically talented, they need to be fully aligned with your vision, and be ready to take risks joining a startup. It doesn't mean you won't find them. But it doesn't mean you should wait for them to move forward with your project.
(without taking equity)
Why work with us?
Why working with us in a CTO-as-a-Service approach is far more valuable than waiting to find the perfect fit for the hardest position to fill in the company.
No Technology Religion.
Whatever your needs are (web, mobile, AI, database,...), we have experience and knowledge with most available technologies. Having a diverse team of senior devs allows us to cover a lot of ground.
We always choose technology based on relevance to the project, and build sustainable products that satisfy every stakeholder. Our developers come from successful companies such as Amazon or Teads — they know how to build robust software, but also to ship tactical code in a hurry.
Who are we?
At 26lights, we believe that launching or running a company is an incredible but challenging journey. Finding good partners is one of the toughest challenges.
We're a team of passionate people with skills ranging from IT (Software/App/Web Development, A.I., Devops, Architecture, UX/UI, Scrum), to business (Business Model, Business Plan, Customer Journey, Marketing strategy and execution), to management (Leadership Coaching, Recruitment Advisory, Team Dynamic, Agile Organization).
Our main drive is to work on projects that excite us and that we believe in. We want to build beautiful companies we can talk about with pride.
We deliver massive value to ambitious entrepreneurs who understand that surrounding themselves with the right people is the key to success.
Umedia
A film production company that has invested $670M in over 500 movies. They came to us when they hit a plateau. We helped them increase their investments by 60% without growing the team — modeling their business and automating the recurring tasks that held them back.
Yields.io
The founder came to us with an idea while still holding a day job. We challenged it and built the first version of the product, which helped raise €1.25M from VC firms. Six years and a few rounds later, the company has 35 people, and we're still working together daily, mainly through coaching sessions.
Sharingbox
We helped Sharingbox simplify the sequence of actions needed to deploy their technology in the real world. We mapped their internal processes and built the tools to standardize them, making the company twice as efficient — which also eased knowledge transfer when the founders came to exit.
e-maprod
We helped e-maprod reorganize their team by putting all the cards on the table, hiring the right people, and giving teams a real sense of ownership so they could run autonomously — while optimizing internal workflows so they could stop relying on spreadsheets.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CTO actually do?
A fractional CTO helps connect business decisions with technical ones.
This can include architecture, product choices, team structure, vendor selection, security, technical debt, recruitment, development processes and the technology roadmap.
The objective is not simply to supervise developers. It is to make sure technical decisions remain aligned with where the company is going.
How is this different from hiring a full-time CTO?
A full-time CTO can be the right long-term solution, but finding the right person can take months.
Fractional CTO support lets the company move forward immediately while keeping flexibility.
It can also be used to help define the role, structure the technical organization and eventually recruit or onboard the permanent CTO.
Will a 26lights CTO push us toward your development team?
No.
The CTO role needs to represent the company's interests first.
We can work with your existing developers, external agencies, freelancers or the 26lights engineering team.
If keeping the current team is the best option, that is what we recommend.
Do you work with a fixed technology stack?
No.
A CTO decision should take into account the existing codebase, available talent, hiring market, product roadmap, security requirements and expected scale.
Changing technology simply because a new CTO prefers another stack is usually exactly the kind of decision we try to avoid.
Does this resonate with you? Let's have a chat!
