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

Currency:

Advisor CTO

$3,600per month

~6 hours per week of dedicated time

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

How we work:

Bi-weekly strategy session with founders (90 min)
Technical stack and architecture review - are you building on the right foundation?
Code review of critical decisions and risky PRs
Candidate screening: resume review, interview structure, hire/no-hire recommendations
Infrastructure and tooling spend review - are you overpaying for cloud and third-party services?
Async access via Slack (48-hour response time)

What you walk away with:

Technical assessment report - honest evaluation of your codebase, infrastructure, and risks
Technology roadmap - prioritized recommendations for the next 6 months
Hiring scorecard - what to look for in your first 3-5 engineers

Outcome

Confidence that your technical decisions are sound and a clear plan to build on - without costly mistakes.

Month-to-month, cancel anytime

Growth CTO

Scale CTO

$11,000per month

~20 hours per week of dedicated time

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

How we work:

Everything from Growth CTO package
Daily involvement in engineering operations - standups, planning, escalations
Executive team participation - board prep, investor meetings, due diligence support
Engineering management development - coaching team leads into engineering managers
Organizational design - team topology, processes, rituals, communication structures
Vendor strategy - cloud cost optimization, service negotiations, contractor management
Technical debt strategy - refactoring roadmap balanced against product delivery

What you walk away with:

Engineering handbook - culture, standards, processes, expectations
Leveling and compensation framework - career ladders and salary bands
Engineering metrics dashboard - DORA metrics, velocity trends, code quality
Incident management playbook - on-call rotation, severity definitions, postmortem process
Technical due diligence package - investor-ready architecture and security documentation
Security and compliance assessment - SOC2, GDPR, HIPAA readiness evaluation
Engineering headcount plan and infrastructure budget forecast

Outcome

A mature engineering organization ready for due diligence and the next funding round.

3-month minimum commitment

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)