Tech Partner Retainer
Your fractional CTO — senior tech leadership without the $200K salary.
Your business is growing.
Your tech needs a leader.
You've built something — now it needs to keep running, stay secure, and grow with your business. You need someone watching the infrastructure, maintaining AI integrations, responding when something breaks, and thinking ahead about what your technology needs in six months.
That's what the Tech Partner Retainer is. A predictable monthly relationship where you get a senior technologist — not a help desk, not a ticket queue — actively managing and improving your technology stack. Direct access, real expertise, no middlemen.
Think of it as a fractional CTO. Founders and ops leaders in healthcare, SaaS, professional services, distribution & wholesale, and aviation get high-level strategy and hands-on execution from someone who knows their systems inside out, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. Cancel anytime — the work speaks for itself.
Monthly retainer
From $800/month
Scales with your needs. Cancel anytime.
- ✓ Infrastructure monitoring & management
- ✓ AI model maintenance & updates
- ✓ Priority bug fixes & support
- ✓ Monthly strategy reviews
- ✓ Continued feature development
- ✓ Direct access — no ticket queues
What's included every month
The retainer adjusts to what your business actually needs. Here's what a typical month looks like.
Infrastructure management
Server monitoring, uptime management, security patches, SSL certificates, backups, and disaster recovery. We keep things running so you don't think about it.
AI maintenance & optimization
AI models drift over time. We monitor performance, retrain when needed, update prompts, and continuously improve the AI systems we've built for you.
Feature development
Your retainer includes development hours for new features, improvements, and expansions. Your software keeps evolving with your business.
Security & compliance
Regular security audits, dependency updates, vulnerability scanning, and OWASP best practice enforcement. We keep your systems safe.
Strategy & advisory
Monthly check-ins on your technology roadmap. Vendor evaluations, build-vs-buy decisions, and long-term planning with someone who knows your systems.
Priority support
Something breaks? You go to the front of the line. Direct communication with someone who already knows your codebase and infrastructure.
A CTO you can actually afford
A full-time CTO costs $150,000–$250,000 a year. Most small businesses don't need that — they need someone with that level of experience available when decisions need to be made.
That's the retainer model. You get strategic technology leadership, hands-on engineering skill, and deep knowledge of your systems — all at a fraction of the cost. Your business gets senior-level guidance without the senior-level payroll.
| Full-time CTO | Tech Partner | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $12k–$20k+ | From $800 |
| Strategy & advisory | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hands-on engineering | Sometimes | ✓ |
| Cancel anytime | ✗ | ✓ |
| Benefits & overhead | $3k–$5k/mo | $0 |
| AI expertise | Varies | ✓ |
How to get started
Introductory call
We'll discuss your current setup, ongoing needs, and what level of support makes sense. No commitment.
Custom agreement
We'll define scope, hours, and priorities in a simple agreement. Month-to-month — no long-term contracts, no exit fees.
Onboarding
We audit your systems, set up monitoring, document what's there, and start managing. Most clients are fully onboarded within a week.
Common questions
Ready for a tech partner?
From $800/month. Cancel anytime. Let's talk about what your business needs and whether we're the right fit.