April 24, 2025Hiring a CTO sounds like the kind of thing a serious startup should do early… signal you’re for real to prospective investors and customers. While that logic is compelling… it’s not always what the doctor ordered. Rushing into that decision can derail your progress, drain your budget, and distract you from what really matters — building and delivering a product that actually works (and users truly love). That’s why hiring a fractional CTO may just be the bridge you’re looking for — the expertise you need without the idleness or cost you can’t afford.
In this episode of ENO8 Answers, I sat down with Scott Bush, a seasoned fractional CTO from Bush and Associates (and partner at Fortium Partners), to talk about when you really need a CTO, what one actually does, and why a fractional CTO might be the smarter play for growing tech companies.
Catch our entire discussion in the video below, where Scott and I dig deep into what makes (and breaks) technical leadership in early-stage startups:
If you just want the Cliff’s Notes, read on!
Before we dig into the nuances of timing, it’s worth leveling on what a CTO actually is — not just in title, but in function.
I’m paraphrasing, but Scott’s basic point was that a true CTO is focused on external technology and innovation — product development, engineering, R&D… They bring technical leadership, but also align that tech vision with business strategy.
That’s different from a CIO, who focuses on internal systems and IT infrastructure. And it’s not a CISO, either — that role is all about data security and risk management. CTOs? They’re all about building and scaling the thing that will set your company apart.
Most early-stage companies don’t need full-time leadership in all three of those roles. What they do need is someone who knows how to avoid costly mistakes in all three directions while building the foundation right the first time — enter the fractional CTO.
A lot of startups skip from, “We don’t need a CTO,” to, “We need a full-time CTO,” with no in-between. But that leap can be both premature and expensive.
A fractional CTO is a great fit when you need senior-level thinking and leadership, but not on a 40-hour-per-week basis. It’s like having a seasoned exec on speed dial… someone who can help steer the ship without you having to hire a whole crew.
Scott added that the ROI often comes fast. “One of my most valuable contributions happens in the first hour — I call it a ‘sanity check.’ Sometimes all a startup needs is to hear, ‘You’re on the right track,’ or, ‘You need to rethink that before you invest more.'”
So what are the actual risks that a fractional CTO helps solve?
“What I see happen when a project’s not going well, people try to work harder… to put more dev resources towards it, more hours. ‘Everybody needs to work harder. You need to get more work done.’ That seems to be the common response to a project not going well; and what I’ve found is the opposite approach is usually the right approach — if things aren’t going well, it’s better to temporarily slow down. Let’s almost sometimes even pause completely, if we have to, and let’s take inventory of what’s really going on.”
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Scott emphasized that much of the rescue work he does comes down to people. Sometimes developers are being asked to do things they shouldn’t be doing (or aren’t empowered to speak up).
“A lot of great devs end up stuck because leadership isn’t hearing them — or worse, blames them,” he said. “Bringing in someone who understands both sides of the table helps bridge that communication gap.”
And for growing teams, it’s not always about replacing people. Sometimes it’s about repurposing them — turning a domain expert into a project manager, or reshaping roles to better fit the mission.
As AI accelerates change across tech, Scott says companies that lean into it early will win. But he cautions that AI isn’t magic… or free.
“Just because AI can write code doesn’t mean it can architect solutions,” he said. “You still need experienced humans to scope, guide, and QA what’s being built.”
Another key point Scott raised is that AI isn’t some budget-saver by default. “We’ve had companies come in and say, ‘We want to eliminate half our dev team and let AI handle the rest.’ But they’re forgetting AI still comes with cost — often billed per usage, per token, or even by processing time. And if you’re not careful, that can rival or even exceed the cost of traditional dev work.”
The lesson? Know what you’re automating… and make sure the business case supports it. AI can be a game-changer, but only when deployed with strategy and oversight.
Hiring a full-time CTO might be the right move… eventually. But if you’re early-stage, growing fast, or even stuck mid-project, you might need something more flexible, strategic, and cost-effective.
That’s where a fractional CTO comes in.
You don’t have to do it alone — and you don’t have to hire too early. Start with a conversation, a sanity check. You might be closer to the right path than you think. And if you’re not, it’s far easier to have an expert set of eyes and ears to help guide you back on track than suffering through alone.
Jeff Francis is a veteran entrepreneur and founder of Dallas-based digital product studio ENO8. Jeff founded ENO8 to empower companies of all sizes to design, develop and deliver innovative, impactful digital products. With more than 18 years working with early-stage startups, Jeff has a passion for creating and growing new businesses from the ground up, and has honed a unique ability to assist companies with aligning their technology product initiatives with real business outcomes.
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