Remote / Hybrid • EST Timezone

Fractional CTO in Toronto

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

Why Toronto Startups Choose Fractional CTO

Toronto is Canada's largest tech hub and one of the world's leading AI research centers thanks to the Vector Institute and University of Toronto. The city attracts global talent with its multicultural character and offers significant advantages over US cities: lower salaries, favorable immigration policies, and access to SR&ED tax credits program.

Toronto's startup ecosystem is particularly strong in FinTech (thanks to banking concentration), AI/ML (research centers), Enterprise SaaS, and HealthTech. However, competition for technical talent is growing, and investor expectations for technical maturity are high. A full-time CTO in Toronto costs CAD $280K-$400K (~$210K-$300K USD), making the fractional model an attractive alternative.

Challenge

Common Challenges for Toronto Startups

Growing competition for AI/ML specialists
Need to comply with Canadian regulations (PIPEDA, OSFI)
Integration with Canadian financial systems
Scaling after receiving SR&ED tax credits

Building teams from local and remote talent
Growing competition for AI/ML specialists
Need to comply with Canadian regulations (PIPEDA, OSFI)

Integration with Canadian financial systems
Scaling after receiving SR&ED tax credits
Building teams from local and remote talent

How Fractional CTO Solves Them

Access to experienced CTO without Toronto salary premiums ($150K-$250K+ CAD savings annually)
Start immediately — without 3-6 month hiring process
Scale engagement up/down as you progress through funding rounds
Expertise in Canadian regulations and compliance
Expertise in building distributed teams with remote-first focus

What I do

Build MVP

Turn your Toronto startup idea into a working product

Tech stack selection for Canadian talent market
Launch in 3-4 months with scalable foundation
Architecture ready for Canadian VC demos

Scale Product

Grow from seed stage to Series A in Toronto

Handle 10x growth without failures
Technical debt management and refactoring
Prepare for Canadian and US VC due diligence

AI Transformation

Integrate AI/ML into your Toronto startup

LLM integrations and GPT-based solutions
ML systems leveraging Vector Institute expertise
Strategy, implementation, and MLOps

Technology Audit

Technical assessment before fundraising

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

Technical Due Diligence for Investors

For Toronto investors evaluating startups

Comprehensive technical risk assessment
Team and product scalability analysis
Reports for investment committees

Team Building

Hire your first 5-10 engineers

Navigate Toronto talent market
Build teams from local and remote specialists
Establish engineering culture

Pricing

Packages for Toronto 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 Functions with Toronto Startups

Working hours overlap: 5 hours with EST for real-time meetings
Communication rhythm: Weekly strategic call with founders. Bi-weekly team sync. Daily communication via Slack. Emergency availability for critical issues.
In-person visits: Quarterly visits to Toronto available for Scale CTO and above packages. Available for board meetings and investor presentations (remote or in-person)