WAVECT vs EU FRACTIONAL NETWORKS

Wavect or an EU fractional CTO network. One advisor on a monthly retainer, or a small senior team on a weekly outcome.

EU fractional networks match you with one screened advisor on a monthly time allocation (often 10 to 20 hours per month). You handle execution with your own engineers. We sell a founder-operator plus a small senior team who advise AND ship inside the same engagement. Same label on the box. Different unit of work.

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“Our network-sourced fractional was excellent at architecture review twice a month. He was not in the room when we needed to kill a feature in week three.”

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How they actually differ

Six dimensions where an EU fractional network and Wavect actually diverge.

WAVECT DIMENSION ALTERNATIVE

Weekly outcome fee. €400 to €20,000 per week.

PRICING MODEL

Monthly retainer. EU networks publicly cite day rates of €1,000 to €2,000, often 10 to 20 hours per month. CEE-sourced networks (e.g. HighCircl) typically run 30 to 50 percent below Western EU rates per public reporting.

Founder-operator plus a small senior team. We advise AND ship.

ENGAGEMENT SHAPE

One advisor matched via the network. You or your engineers implement.

Founder plus engineer on every call.

WHO YOU ACTUALLY TALK TO

One advisor on scheduled time blocks. Network success contact if matching needs to change.

Two founders, no marketplace. Senior bar is structural, not browsable.

SELECTION

Browse profiles, compare credentials, pick one. The marketplace is the product.

Cancel any week. Werkvertrag on fixed-price work.

EXIT TERMS

Usually month to month. Network-specific terms vary.

Refund the last week if it did not blow you away.

WHAT IF IT FAILS

Hours or days billed are owed. Re-matching available on most networks.

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The real difference, in practice

EU fractional networks (Pangea, Malt, Connectd, HighCircl and similar) match you with one advisor on a monthly retainer. If you already have engineers and the gap is senior guidance, that is a clean fit: you buy the advice and your team executes it.

We sell advice and execution from the same operator. The person setting the technical strategy is also on the hook for shipping it, which removes the handoff between the advisor who decides and the team that builds. When you do not yet have engineers, or the ones you have need direction and delivery in one engagement, that combination is the point.

So the split is about what you already have in-house. Strong team, missing only counsel: a network advisor is lighter and likely cheaper. No team, or a team that needs both jobs done by one accountable operator: that is us.

See how the retainer works and our fractional CTO engagement.

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When each is the better call

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When Wavect is the better call

  • You need both the advice and the execution. There is no engineering team to hand the recommendation to yet.
  • You want pushback that comes with implementation responsibility. We have to ship what we recommend.
  • You want one bill, one accountability line. Not an advisor plus contractors plus stitching across vendors.
  • You want both advice and implementation from the same operator, billed against the same scope. Not a network-matched advisor plus separately-contracted developers stitched together.
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When an EU fractional network is the better call

  • You need a specific niche domain expert that Wavect does not carry in house (e.g. ex-Stripe payments lead, regulated-markets fintech CTO, ex-FAANG ML director). Marketplace breadth is the matching tool.
  • You want to browse profiles, compare credentials side by side, and pick the advisor yourself. The marketplace is the value.
  • You want continuity with one named individual you select yourself, not a studio relationship with two founders plus rotating senior contractors.
  • Your procurement is EU-marketplace-constrained (specific listed vendors, framework agreements, or programme requirements).

If the bullets on the right describe your situation, the network is the cleaner pick. If the bullets on the left describe it, talk to us.

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Relevant Wavect work

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FAQs

Most network-sourced fractional CTOs sell time slots. We sell weekly outcomes with founder plus engineer on every call. If you have engineers to act on the advice, the network is set up for that and is usually cheaper per month. If you do not have engineers yet, the advice compounds slowly and the cost-per-shipped-outcome inverts.
Yes. We do this regularly. The advisor stays on for strategic continuity, we run a sprint against a specific outcome, scopes stay separate, accountability lines stay clean.
We are not listed as a fractional individual on those networks. We are a small studio with our own SoW and contracting. If your procurement requires a listed marketplace vendor, that is a constraint we cannot meet today.
Per hour, yes, especially against CEE-sourced networks that run 30 to 50 percent below Western EU rates per public reporting. Per shipped product, the math depends on whether your team can execute the advice. If yes, the cheaper retainer wins. If no, the shipped-outcome model usually wins.
Discovery Phase at €3,500 for two to three weeks. That produces architecture, milestone plan, and a fixed-price offer for the build. Most founders comparing fractional networks start there.
Source: pangea.ai/cto
Last reviewed: byKevin Riedl wiki ↗
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