Fractional CTO in Hamilton, Ontario
Technical direction and hands-on code, without the full-time hire.I'm Colin Longworth, a fractional CTO based in Hamilton, Ontario. I work with founders and teams across Hamilton, the Golden Horseshoe, and beyond, giving them senior technical leadership, architecture, and code that ships, without the cost or commitment of a full-time CTO hire.
Most of my conversations start the same way: someone in the Hamilton area is building something and needs technical direction, but isn't ready for a full-time CTO. Maybe the product is early and the decisions feel high-stakes. Maybe the team is growing and the tech debt is piling up. Maybe they just need someone who can think through the architecture with them and write code when it counts. That's the gap I fill: part-time, hands-on, no overhead.
Built for the Hamilton & Golden Horseshoe tech scene
Local, in-person when it helps
I'm based in Hamilton and happy to meet in person across the city, Burlington, and the Golden Horseshoe when it's worth the drive. Remote works too, most of my clients are hybrid.
Enterprise-grade experience
Former SAP Hybris VPR Lead for EMEA, now building SaaS products and WordPress/Thinkific ecosystems from Hamilton for clients in Canada, the US, and globally.
Hands-on, not advisory-only
I write code, review PRs, and unblock teams, not just slide decks. Hamilton companies get the same delivery discipline I bring to every engagement.
What a fractional CTO does for Hamilton companies
The same scope of work I deliver anywhere:
Architecture & tech strategy
Stack decisions, system design, and scaling plans, with the tradeoffs made explicit.
Hands-on development
Laravel, Livewire, WordPress, WooCommerce, and integration work, shipped by me, not delegated.
Roadmap & delivery rhythm
Priorities, milestones, and shipped progress, the antidote to a stalled product.
Team building & hiring
JD reviews, technical screens, and onboarding so you hire engineers who fit.
How it starts
Introductory call
A 30-minute conversation about your product vision and current technical bottlenecks. No pitch, no slides.
Scope & technical roadmap
We define clear milestones and architecture priorities tailored to what your business needs.
Hands-on execution
Direct technical leadership embedded with your team: architecture, PR reviews, and code shipped to your repo.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with Hamilton startups in person?
Yes. I'm based in Hamilton and regularly meet clients in person across the city and the Golden Horseshoe when it helps. Most engagements run hybrid, in-person when valuable, remote between.
How much does a fractional CTO cost in Hamilton?
Pricing is tailored to your stage and scope: from fixed-fee technical audits to monthly fractional retainers. No equity requirements or hidden fees. For comparison, a full-time CTO hire in the GTA typically runs $180K–$300K+/year plus equity.
What technologies do you work with?
Laravel, Livewire, Tailwind CSS, WordPress, WooCommerce, Thinkific integrations, SAP Hybris, and SSO/identity (Okta, Auth0, SAML), plus cloud infrastructure on Cloudflare and Hetzner.
I already have developers. Can you still help?
That's often the best time to bring me in. I lead the technical direction, set standards, review the work, and unblock the team so your developers ship faster.
How fast can we start?
Usually within a week. We start with an introductory call to discuss your goals and align on scope before kicking off.
Hamilton-built, founder-focused, and ready when you are. Let's talk about your product.