15+
Years independent client work
150+
Shipped platforms across PH, US, CA, AU
4
Continents of active engagements
Why US founders hire a fractional CTO from Manila
60-70% cost savings vs a US-based fractional CTO
A US fractional CTO typically charges $400-600/hr or $15-25k/mo retainer. Same scope, Manila-based delivery: $50-100/hr or $5-10k/mo. The savings come from rates, not output.
Real US timezone overlap, not "we work asynchronously"
Manila is +13 hours from Pacific, +16 from Eastern. I keep an evening block (PHT) that maps to mornings on both coasts — direct standups, real-time architecture sessions, no 36-hour ping-pong.
Senior-only — no junior bait-and-switch
When you hire from a US fractional CTO firm you often get a senior advisor on the sales call and a mid-level executor on the work. With me you get the same person both sessions.
Bench of vetted Filipino senior engineers when you need a team
Beyond the CTO seat, I can stand up a Manila-based product engineering team in 2-4 weeks: senior full-stack, mobile, devops, QA. Direct hire, not agency markup.
What this engagement covers
- Architecture audits and tech debt scoring before Series A or due diligence
- Stack selection for new product builds (when "use what you know" is not the answer)
- Engineering team design — hiring rubric, comp bands, ramp plan, first 90 days
- Migration planning — legacy monolith to modular, on-prem to cloud, manual ops to AI-driven automation
- Vendor and contractor evaluation — RFPs, SOW reviews, second-opinion calls
- Technical interviewing — sit on candidate panels and give an unfiltered read
- Founder-CTO handoffs when the founder is ready to stop owning code
- AI / LLM integration strategy — what to build, what to buy, what to wait on
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CTO actually do in the first 30 days for a US startup?
Listening, not coding. The first month is an honest read of the existing tech, the team, the founder priorities, and the gap between what you say you want and what the codebase says you want. By day 30 you should have a one-page tech roadmap, a costed engineering plan for the next two quarters, and at least one quick-win shipped.
How much does a fractional CTO from Manila cost in USD?
Two common engagements: hourly advisory at $50-100/hr (typically 8-20 hrs/month) or retainer at $5-10k/month for 40-60 hrs of dedicated CTO bandwidth. Both are 60-70% below US-based fractional CTO equivalents at the same seniority.
Can you support our existing US-based engineering team or do you replace them?
Augment, not replace. Most engagements are a fractional CTO seat sitting alongside an existing in-house team or a US-based engineering lead. The seat works as the strategic and architecture layer above the team, not in competition with it.
Do you sign mutual NDAs and US contracts (W-9, 1099, MSA)?
Yes. Standard W-9 for the entity, 1099-NEC at year-end, mutual NDA before any privileged access, and an MSA + SOW per engagement. I work with US legal templates and have shipped contracts with founders in California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Washington.
What kind of US companies hire you?
Most often: pre-Series A startups with a technical founder ready to step out of code, post-acquisition platforms inheriting tech debt, and SMBs going through digital transformation but allergic to enterprise consulting fees. Industries lean into SaaS, fintech, real estate tech, healthcare IT, and AI tooling.
Ready to talk specifics?
30 minutes, no slides, no pitch — just a working session on your engagement.
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