Remote / Hybrid • PST Timezone

Fractional CTO in Vancouver

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

Why Vancouver Startups Choose Fractional CTO

Vancouver is a unique tech hub known as the world center for gaming (EA, Microsoft Studios, Activision), VR/AR technologies, and film and VFX production. The city is also a gateway to Asian markets and attracts talent with its quality of life and natural beauty.

Vancouver's startup ecosystem is strong in Gaming, VR/AR, Cleantech, Film Tech, and AI/ML. The city offers significant tax incentives for entertainment and tech companies. However, a full-time CTO in Vancouver costs CAD $240K-$360K (~$180K-$270K USD), making the fractional model attractive for early-stage startups.

Challenge

Common Challenges for Vancouver Startups

Competition for talent with major gaming studios
Need to comply with Canadian regulations (PIPEDA)
Optimize for film industry tax credits
Scaling VR/AR and gaming projects

Building teams for Asian markets
Competition for talent with major gaming studios
Need to comply with Canadian regulations (PIPEDA)

Optimize for film industry tax credits
Scaling VR/AR and gaming projects
Building teams for Asian markets

How Fractional CTO Solves Them

Access to experienced CTO without Vancouver premiums and salaries ($120K-$200K+ CAD savings annually)
Start immediately — without 3-6 month hiring process
Scale engagement up/down as you progress through funding rounds
Expertise in gaming and VR architecture and optimization
Global best practices for building distributed teams

What I do

Build MVP

Turn your Vancouver startup idea into a working product

Tech stack selection for gaming/VR/AR projects
Launch in 3-4 months with scalable foundation
Architecture for high-performance applications

Scale Product

Grow from seed stage to Series A in Vancouver

Handle 10x growth without failures
Optimization for gaming and real-time systems
Prepare for Canadian and US VC due diligence

AI Transformation

Integrate AI/ML into your startup

AI for gaming and creative applications
ML systems for VFX and film production
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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver talent market
Build teams for gaming/VR/AR projects
Implement engineering culture

Pricing

Packages for Vancouver 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 for Vancouver Startups

Working hours overlap: 8 hours overlap with PST for live calls, async work via Slack and email for zero-downtime work
Communication rhythm: Weekly strategic call with founders, bi-weekly team sync, daily async communication via Slack
In-person visits: Quarterly visits to Vancouver available for Scale CTO+ packages, participation in board meetings and investor presentations