WAVECT vs OTHER FRACTIONAL CTPOs

Wavect or another fractional CTPO. We run the combined product-and-engineering role too. The difference is two founders carrying it, not one freelancer.

A CTPO owns the whole arc: what gets built, how it gets built, and whether it solves the customer’s problem, all in one head. We run that combined role fractional, and so do a small number of senior solo operators. If you find one who genuinely carries deep product and deep engineering at once, that is a clean fit. The two gaps we see most: the solo CTPO is really a product advisor who hand-waves the technical call (or the reverse), and the solo CTPO is one calendar and one point of failure. With us you get two founders, one as your CTPO interface, both carrying product and engineering depth. If you only need one side, the Fractional CPO or Fractional CTO is the cleaner, cheaper pick.

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“Our last combined hire owned the roadmap and the architecture. He also went on holiday for two weeks and the whole product stalled, because there was only one of him.”

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How they actually differ

Six dimensions where Wavect and a solo fractional CTPO actually diverge.

WAVECT DIMENSION ALTERNATIVE

Two founders, each carrying product-management depth (discovery, roadmap, prioritization) AND senior engineering depth (architecture, delivery) in the same head. 75+ shipped products across the team.

EXPERTISE IN THE ROOM

One operator. Usually strong on one discipline and lighter on the other, because few individuals are genuinely senior on both product and engineering at once.

Retainer tiers for the combined role: CTPO-on-Call for async product and technical triage, embedded fractional CTPO at 1 to 2 days a week. Fixed-scope diagnostics (product plus tech due diligence, discovery plus architecture sprint) when that is the right shape.

ENGAGEMENT SHAPE

Monthly advisory retainer with one person, often indefinite, capacity capped by a single calendar.

CTPO-on-Call from EUR 2,500 per month. Embedded fractional CTPO at EUR 12,000 per month. Product plus Tech Due Diligence at EUR 8,000 fixed, Discovery plus Architecture Sprint at EUR 3,500 fixed.

PRICING MODEL

EUR 200 to EUR 500 per hour for a senior combined operator. Hours billed.

Two founders on every engagement, one as your CTPO interface. If one is out, product and engineering leadership do not both stop.

SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE

One person carries both functions. Holiday, illness, or overload pauses your product and your engineering at the same time.

We own product and engineering as one combined remit, and plan the split into a dedicated CTO and CPO from day one as you scale.

SCOPE OWNERSHIP

Combined ownership too, but the split plan and the handover are usually undefined and left to you.

Retainer tiers are a freier Dienstvertrag, cancellable any week. Fixed-scope diagnostics are a Werkvertrag: a signed scope we are legally bound to deliver.

WHAT IF IT FAILS

Hours billed are hours owed. No outcome guarantee.

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The real difference, in practice

A fractional CTPO carries the remit of a CTO and a CPO in one head: roadmap and prioritization on the product side, architecture and delivery on the engineering side, with no handoff between them. That combined role is genuinely valuable pre-product-market-fit, when a startup cannot afford two senior hires and cannot afford the politics of a CTO and a CPO disagreeing about priority every Tuesday.

The hard part is finding one person who is truly senior on both sides. Most solo “CTPO” offers lean heavily to one discipline and wave at the other. Our difference is that the combined role is how Wavect normally works: both Kevin and Christof carry product-management depth and senior engineering depth, which is why the fractional CPO and fractional CTO are described on this site as the product-only and engineering-only slices of the same combined head.

The second difference is structural. A solo fractional CTPO is one calendar. When they are on holiday, sick, or overloaded, both your product and your engineering leadership stop at once. You hire two founders, one as your CTPO interface, so there is no single point of failure on a role that already concentrates a lot of authority.

Honest scope: this is a pre-PMF and early-traction shape. The role should split into a dedicated CTO and CPO once engineering management becomes a full-time job, usually past eight engineers. If you are pre-PMF or on a tight budget, the same combined head runs through the Fractional Co-Founder at EUR 400 per week. See the matching Wavect vs another fractional CTO and Wavect vs another fractional CPO comparisons for the single-discipline view.

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When each is the better call

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When Wavect is the better call

  • You need product and engineering owned in one head, but you do not want that head to be a single point of failure. Two founders cover the role so it survives a holiday.
  • You want a combined operator who is genuinely senior on both sides, not a product advisor who hand-waves feasibility or an engineer who guesses at the roadmap.
  • You are pre-PMF or early-traction and cannot yet justify a separate CTO and CPO, but you want the split planned and documented from day one.
  • You want transparent retainer and fixed-scope pricing with a real contract, not an open-ended hourly advisory relationship.
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When another fractional CTPO is the better call

  • You need deep domain experience in your specific industry that Kevin and Christof do not carry. Examples: regulated fintech, medical-device under FDA pathways, marketplace pricing at scale. Industry-specific track record matters more than the combined product-and-engineering mix we bring.
  • You need a combined leader who has run both product and engineering for a 100-plus-person organisation with multiple squads. Wavect’s track record is small senior teams shipping fast, not large layered orgs.
  • You want a long-term named-individual relationship that survives multiple CEO transitions and pivots, rather than scoped retainer and diagnostic engagements.
  • Your engineering org is already past the point where one person should own both, and you actually need a dedicated CTO and a dedicated CPO, not a combined seat.

If the bullets on the right describe your situation, another fractional CTPO (or a split CTO and CPO) is the right 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 solo fractional CTPOs are genuinely senior on one discipline and lighter on the other, and they are one calendar. We run the combined role with two founders, each carrying product-management depth and senior engineering depth, so neither the feasibility call nor the roadmap call is hand-waved, and a holiday does not stall both at once. There are real cases where another fractional fits better: when your industry needs domain expertise we do not carry, or when you need someone who has run a 100-plus-person org.
Early, yes. Pre-product-market-fit, a single combined head collapses the CTO-CPO coordination loop and saves runway. Once engineering management becomes a full-time job, usually past eight engineers, the role should split into a dedicated CTO and CPO. We plan that split from day one and help you hire both when the time comes.
Per hour, a senior solo operator at EUR 200 to EUR 500 can look comparable. The difference is that you are buying two senior heads and no single point of failure for one retainer, plus a real contract instead of open-ended billed hours. If a stalled product during one person’s two-week holiday would cost you more than the delta, the math favours two founders.
Same combined role, different stage. The Fractional Co-Founder is the pre-PMF entry point at EUR 400 per week, sitting beside the founder while the product is still being figured out. The CTPO retainers are for teams past that point that want the combined remit on a defined day-per-week scope. If you are pre-PMF or on a tight budget, start with the co-founder model.
Discovery plus Architecture Sprint at EUR 3,500 fixed, or Product plus Tech Due Diligence at EUR 8,000 fixed. Both are fixed-scope diagnostics, a Werkvertrag we are legally bound to deliver, and most founders comparing fractional CTPO services start with one before moving to a retainer tier.
Yes, and that is the plan from day one. We document architecture and product decisions as we go, and when engineering management becomes a full-time job we help you recruit the permanent CTO and CPO who replace us. A CTPO who will not plan their own replacement is the wrong CTPO.
Last reviewed: byKevin Riedl wiki ↗
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