WAVECT vs OTHER FRACTIONAL CTOs

Wavect or another fractional CTO. We run as fractional CTO too. The difference is product judgement in the same head as the technical call.

We run fractional CTO engagements when that is the right shape. Most other fractional CTOs bring deep technical expertise: architecture, stack choices, engineering review, hiring. What they typically do not bring is product management depth: PM discovery, scope decisions, kill-the-feature judgement anchored in market sense. Both Kevin and Christof carry both. If your bottleneck is purely technical and product is solved on your side, a pure-technical fractional is usually leaner and cheaper per hour. If the product call lives in the same room as the architecture call, the comparison shifts.

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“Our previous fractional was great at architecture review. He was not in the room when we needed to kill a feature. The fractional title covers two completely different jobs.”

// 01

Decision snapshot

VerdictA pure fractional CTO is usually the better buy when product direction is already covered. Wavect is better when architecture, roadmap, and delivery cannot be separated without creating handoff loss.

Wavect is best when

  • The same decision changes both product scope and technical architecture.
  • You need someone to kill features, not only review stack choices.
  • You want advice tied to implementation accountability.

The alternative is best when

  • You need independent technical review with no implementation interest.
  • Your product team is strong and the gap is architecture, hiring, security, or engineering process.
  • Your industry demands narrow domain CTO experience Wavect does not claim.

Questions to ask before you choose

  1. Is the advisor responsible for outcomes, or only for recommendations?
  2. Who owns product trade-offs when technical feasibility changes?
  3. Does the engagement include implementation, hiring support, security review, or only scheduled advice?

Commercial risk to watch

  • Hourly advisory can be efficient, but unresolved product scope creates recurring meeting cost.
  • Combining advice and implementation creates accountability, but buyers should still ask how conflicts are handled.

Evidence notes

  • Fractional CTO is not a regulated title; service shape differs widely.
  • Compare references by actual mandate: architecture review, interim leadership, hands-on build, hiring, or product-technical ownership.
// 02

How they actually differ

Six dimensions where Wavect and a pure-technical fractional CTO actually diverge.

WAVECT DIMENSION ALTERNATIVE

Two founders carrying product management depth (PM discovery, roadmap, kill-the-feature judgement) AND senior engineering depth in the same head. 75+ shipped products across the team.

EXPERTISE IN THE ROOM

Typically deep technical expertise (architecture, stack, engineering review, hiring). Product management is usually carried by the client or a separate PM hire.

Weekly outcome sprints by default. Pure fractional CTO retainer (architecture, engineering leadership, hiring) also available when that is the right scope.

ENGAGEMENT SHAPE

Monthly advisory retainer, typically 10 to 20 hours per month, often indefinite.

€400 to €20,000 per week on weekly sprints. Monthly fractional CTO retainers quoted to scope.

PRICING MODEL

€150 to €400 per hour. Hours billed.

Founder-operator plus a small senior team when scope demands.

WHO YOU ACTUALLY TALK TO

One advisor on scheduled time blocks. You handle execution with your team.

We carry both product and technical scope decisions inside the engagement.

SCOPE OWNERSHIP

Technical scope shaped with the advisor. Product scope stays on your side.

Refund the last week if it did not blow you away. Cancel any week.

WHAT IF IT FAILS

Hours billed are hours owed. No outcome guarantee.

// 03

The real difference, in practice

Most fractional CTOs are pure-technical: architecture, hiring, stack decisions, security accountability. That is genuinely valuable, and if your product side is already solved, a pure-technical fractional is a clean fit and often cheaper than us.

Our difference is that both founders carry product-management depth in the same head as the technical call. The person deciding your architecture is the same person who can decide whether the feature belongs on the roadmap at all. You are not coordinating a CTO and a product lead who disagree about priority every Tuesday.

That matters when the technical and product questions are tangled, which before product-market fit they almost always are. “Build it on this stack” and “build it at all” are not separate conversations when you are still finding the product.

If your product direction is locked and you only need engineering executed and led, a pure-technical fractional wins on focus and price. If the two questions are still one question, you want the combined role. That role is closer to a CTPO ; see how we run it .

// 04

When each is the better call

// 01

When Wavect is the better call

  • You need product judgement and technical judgement from the same head. Kill-the-feature calls happen in the same room as architecture calls.
  • Pre product-market fit. The product question is open and the answer needs both PM depth (market, scope) and engineering depth (feasibility, cost) in the same conversation.
  • You want pushback that comes with skin in the scope call AND implementation responsibility. We ship what we recommend.
  • You want one bill, one accountability line, both the product and technical side covered. Not a fractional CTO plus a fractional PM stitched together.
// 02

When another fractional CTO is the better call

  • You need deep domain experience in your specific industry that Kevin and Christof do not carry. Examples: regulated banking with PSD2 or Basel III lineage, medical-device firmware under FDA Class III, defence contracting, telco infrastructure, wet-lab biotech integration. Industry-specific track record matters more than the general product-plus-technical mix we bring.
  • You need a fractional CTO who has led a 100-plus engineering organisation through hyperscale challenges. Wavect’s track record is small senior teams shipping fast, not 200-engineer org charts or multi-year platform consolidations.
  • You want a long-term named-individual advisory relationship that survives multiple CEO transitions and product cycles. Our default shape is sprint-scoped engagements, not a multi-year personal CTO seat on retainer.
  • You want the advisor to be a third party with no implementation conflict of interest. They review your team’s architecture or code without ever writing any of it.

If the bullets on the right describe your situation, another fractional CTO is the right pick. If the bullets on the left describe it, talk to us.

// 05

Relevant Wavect work

// 06

FAQs

Most fractional CTOs are deeply technical. Architecture, stack choices, engineering review, hiring. What they typically do not carry is product management depth: PM discovery, scope decisions, kill-the-feature judgement anchored in market sense. Both Kevin and Christof carry both. There are real cases where another fractional is the better fit: when your industry needs domain-specific expertise we do not carry (regulated finance, medical-device, defence), or when you need someone whose track record is on 100-plus engineering organisations. If the call is general product-plus-technical depth on a small senior team, that is us.
Yes, when that is the right scope. Most of our work is weekly outcome sprints with two founders plus a small senior team, but we run pure fractional CTO retainers (architecture, engineering leadership, hiring) when the client already has product depth in house and only needs the technical side. The shape is decided in Discovery Phase .
Per hour, yes. €150 to €400 per hour for an advisor’s time is real. Per shipped outcome, the math depends on whether product and technical decisions are happening in the same conversation. If your PM call lives in one Zoom and your CTO call lives in another, the cost of mis-alignment between them is usually more than the per-hour delta.
Yes. We do this regularly. The existing advisor stays on for strategic continuity and we run a sprint against a specific outcome. The accountability lines stay clean because the scopes are different.
Discovery Phase at €3,500 for two to three weeks. That produces architecture, milestone plan, and a fixed-price offer for the build. Most founders comparing fractional services start there.
Yes. For Austrian engagements specifically, see our Fractional CTO Austria pillar with transparent pricing tiers and hybrid coverage across Innsbruck, Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Tirol. Same two-founders-plus-bench shape, scoped for AT-based mandates.
Last reviewed: byKevin Riedl wiki ↗

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