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

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 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).