Remote / Hybrid • PST Timezone

Fractional CTO in Los Angeles

Expert technical leadership for Los Angeles startups. CTO services in PST timezone. Build, scale, and transform your product without full-time CTO costs.

Why Los Angeles Startups Choose Fractional CTO

Los Angeles is the second-largest tech hub in the US with a rapidly growing startup ecosystem. The city is known for its unique blend of Entertainment Tech, E-commerce/D2C brands, AdTech/MarTech, gaming, and streaming platforms. Proximity to Hollywood creates special opportunities for startups at the intersection of technology and entertainment.

While Los Angeles is more affordable than San Francisco, competition for technical talent remains high, especially in entertainment tech and gaming. LA CTO salaries range from $300K-$450K+ plus equity, making full-time hiring challenging for early-stage startups. Fractional CTO provides access to expert technical leadership without the full financial burden.

Challenge

Challenges for Los Angeles Startups

High competition for talent from entertainment and gaming companies
Specific requirements for content and media technologies
Need to scale for D2C and e-commerce loads
Integration with entertainment platforms and studios

CCPA and specific entertainment industry regulations
High competition for talent from entertainment and gaming companies
Specific requirements for content and media technologies

Need to scale for D2C and e-commerce loads
Integration with entertainment platforms and studios
CCPA and specific entertainment industry regulations

How Fractional CTO Helps Solve These Challenges

Access to experienced CTO without LA salary premiums ($180K-$350K+ savings annually)
Start immediately—no 3-6 month hiring process
Expertise in entertainment tech, streaming, and media technologies
Expertise in building distributed teams with remote-first focus
Global best practices for scaling D2C and e-commerce

What I do

Build Your MVP

Turn your startup idea into a working product

Tech stack selection for entertainment and e-commerce market
Launch in 3-4 months with scalable foundation
Architecture for content-oriented applications

Scale Your Product

Grow your startup to Series A and beyond

Handle viral loads and seasonal D2C peaks
Optimize streaming and content delivery
Prepare for LA investor due diligence

AI Transformation

Integrate AI/ML into your startup

AI for content personalization and recommendations
Computer vision for entertainment and retail
Marketing automation and AdTech solutions

Technology Audit

Technical assessment before fundraising

Code quality and architecture review
Prepare for LA VC due diligence
Risk map and recommendations

Technical Due Diligence for Investors

For investors evaluating startups

Comprehensive technical risk assessment
Scalability analysis for media and e-commerce
Reports for investment committees

Team Building

Hire your first 5-10 engineers

Navigate Los Angeles talent market
Build hybrid teams (local + remote engineers)
Attract talent from entertainment and gaming

Pricing

Packages for Los Angeles Startups

Contract Length:

Currency:

Advisor CTO

$3,600per month

6 hours per week, 24 hours per month

For early-stage startups with an MVP or an idea that need oversight and support without full-time involvement.

2 strategic sessions per month (90 minutes each)
Technical stack and architecture audit
Slack support (48-hour response time)
Hiring support: candidate reviews and recommendations

What's included:

6-month technical roadmap
Architecture guidelines document

Outcome:A clear plan and recommendations for technology and team development without the overhead of a full-time CTO.

Contract term:1 month

Growth CTO

Scale CTO

$12,000per month

≈3 days per week, 80 hours per month

Series A+ startups with 15-20+ engineers preparing for the next funding round.

Everything from Growth CTO package
Participation in executive meetings and investor discussions
Building engineering management team (leads, engineering managers)
Due diligence support for fundraising
Organizational design: team structure, processes, rituals
Technical debt strategy and refactoring roadmap
Vendor and partner negotiations (AWS, third-party services, contractors)

What's included:

Engineering handbook and team culture code
Leveling and compensation framework
Engineering metrics dashboards (DORA, velocity, code quality, etc.)
Incident management and on-call rotation

Outcome:A mature engineering organization with clear processes, metrics, and a culture of product ownership.

Contract term:from 6 months

How Remote Work with Los Angeles Startups Works

Time overlap: 8 hours daily overlap with 9:00am-6:00pm PST—sufficient for meetings and calls. Outside this window, available asynchronously via Slack and email for uninterrupted workflow.
Communication rhythm: Weekly strategic calls with founders. Bi-weekly team syncs. Daily communication via Slack. Emergency availability for critical issues.
In-person visits: Quarterly visits to Los Angeles available for Scale CTO packages and above. Available for board meetings and investor presentations (remote or in-person).