How a Part-Time CTO Launches Your MVP in 45 Days
Use this 6-week playbook to scope, build, and ship a revenue-ready SaaS MVP without hiring a full-time CTO.
If you have a validated problem, a handful of contractors, and 3–6 months of runway, you do not need to hire a $400k CTO to launch. You need senior judgment that will lock scope, orchestrate your hybrid team, and ship paying value in 45 days.
After 50+ MVP launches, this is the playbook I use when founders cannot wait for a full-time search. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the rapid prototyping launch planner the moment it drops, and you will know exactly what to build, who owns each decision, and how to iterate once revenue hits.
1. Why part-time CTO beats DIY
- Scope stops slipping. We compress the backlog to a single “one problem, one solution” workflow and murder the rest.
- Contractors get leadership. Someone finally owns code reviews, rituals, and release management.
- Investors see numbers, not guesses. Analytics, instrumentation, and launch comms live in the plan—not as afterthoughts.
- Hiring gets easier. You exit with architecture docs, scorecards, and a 30-60-90 plan so your first full-time CTO or engineering lead can hit the ground running.
2. Week 0 — Audit & scope lock
- Inputs: quick-win audit, backlog triage, tool access, runway review.
- Deliverables: architecture brief, prioritized backlog, risk register, analytics baseline.
- Exit criteria: founder signs one workflow, one goal, one budget.
Want the same working session? Book a quick-win audit and we will run this during the first five business days.
3. Weeks 1–2 — Design & prototype
- UX flows in Figma, AI/automation spikes, customer interviews.
- Draft data model, integration plan, and acceptance criteria.
- Validate the prototype with 3–5 target customers; kill anything they will not pay for.
- Update runway calculator with reality (not guesses).
4. Weeks 3–4 — Build the single critical workflow
| Focus | What happens |
|---|---|
| Engineering | Build the end-to-end workflow, integrate auth, billing, and notifications. |
| Quality | CI/CD pipelines, unit + smoke tests, definition of done baked in. |
| Leadership | Daily async standups, twice-weekly demo reviews, backlog ruthlessly trimmed. |
Guardrail: no new scope without killing equal (or greater) scope. Part-time CTO enforces this so you launch on time.
5. Week 5 — Stabilize & instrument
- Full QA pass + bug bash.
- Instrument product analytics (PostHog), funnel tracking, and KPI dashboard.
- Security review, incident playbook, support escalation tree.
- Documentation: runbook, architecture overview, API keys, environment variables.
6. Week 6 — Launch & handoff
- Launch day command center, messaging, and customer comms.
- 30-60-90 growth plan with experiment backlog and learning cadence.
- Hiring scorecards and interview scripts if you are making your first technical hires.
- Transition plan: stay on part-time retainer or recruit full-time leadership.
7. Proof: StaySignal retention platform
StaySignal helps SaaS companies rescue cancellations. They needed senior coverage to:
- Ship an embeddable cancellation widget that captures feedback at the moment of churn
- Automate retention offers and incentives with a tightly coupled Stripe integration
- Stand up real-time analytics, notifications, and documentation so customer success teams act on the data
"What started as a simple MVP turned into something much more complete and impressive thanks to his dedication and skill." — Tom van den Heuvel, Founder, StaySignal
Read the full case study for the turnaround plan and outcomes.
8. Budget & runway calculator
| Option | Monthly Cash | Time to Launch | Leadership Coverage | Hidden Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time CTO hire | $35k+ salary + equity | 3–6 months after hire | 40–60 hrs/week | Recruiter fees, ramp delay |
| Agency build (no CTO) | $18k+ project retainer | 8–12 weeks | Project manager | Scope creep, throwaway code |
| Part-time CTO engagement (Continuum) | $7k–$12k retainer, projects starting at $18.5k | 6 weeks | 10–20 hrs/week senior leadership | Playbooks + tooling included |
Need a gut-check on the numbers? Join the newsletter and reply with your backlog for feedback, or jump on a quick-win audit call and we will pressure-test it together.
9. Launch readiness checklist
- Budget approved for 6-week sprint (typical range $7k–$12k/month)
- Figma flows or wireframes covering the primary workflow
- Access to domain, hosting, analytics, and third-party APIs
- Single success metric defined and agreed upon
- Founder or product owner available 2–3 hours/week for decisions
If you can check most of these boxes, book the audit and we will lock your start date.
Wrapping up your scope while we finish the launch planner? Subscribe to the newsletter for MVP playbooks and early access updates, or go straight to the
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FAQ
Next steps
- Explore the part-time CTO service tiers
- Review the MVP development service if you need more hands on deck
- Book a quick-win audit to start your 45-day clock
What’s stopping you from shipping in 45 days? Drop the blocker below 👇