CTO-as-a-Service

The Challenge

Growing companies reach a point where they need experienced technical leadership. Maybe you're a founder making architecture decisions outside your expertise. Maybe your development team needs guidance but not a manager. Maybe you're preparing for scale and want someone who's been there before.

Hiring a full-time CTO is expensive (€150,000-€250,000/year) and risky if you hire the wrong person. You need the expertise, not necessarily the full-time role.

What We Do

Sandorian acts as your technical leadership partner. We're involved enough to understand your context deeply, but not so involved that we become a bottleneck.

What this looks like in practice:

• Weekly Strategy Sessions: Regular touchpoints to discuss technical direction and challenges
• Architecture Decisions: Help make and document key technical choices
• Team Mentoring: Guide your developers' growth and code quality
• Vendor Evaluation: Assess tools, platforms, and service providers
• Hiring Support: Help define roles, review candidates, technical interviews
• Tech Roadmap: Plan technical initiatives aligned with business goals
• Crisis Response: Be there when things go wrong

What's Included

• Weekly 60-90 minute strategy sessions
• Async availability for questions and quick reviews
• Architecture decision records (ADRs)
• Code review and quality guidance
• Technical due diligence support
• Quarterly technology roadmap updates
• Team training sessions as needed
• Participation in key stakeholder meetings

Investment & Commitment

Investment starts at €6,000/month, depending on involvement level and company complexity.

• Standard (€6,000/month): Weekly sessions, async support, architecture guidance, team involvement, hiring support
• Embedded (€10,000/month): Near full-time involvement, suitable for critical phases or transitions

We ask for a 3-month minimum commitment. After that, month-to-month. Most clients stay 12-24 months, often through specific growth phases.

What We're Not

To set expectations clearly:

• We're not a replacement for hands-on engineering (though we can help find that)
• We won't make decisions in isolation: we guide, you decide
• We're not available 24/7 (but we are available when it matters)
• We won't take equity in lieu of payment

Ideal For

• Startups with technical founders who need a sounding board
• Non-technical founders building tech products
• Scale-ups outgrowing their initial architecture
• Companies between CTOs during transitions
• Organizations preparing for investment or acquisition
• Teams that need senior guidance but not full-time management