The request usually arrives in the same shape. Development is slower than it should be, nobody can explain where the budget went, and the board has started asking questions that the current team cannot answer in business language. Someone suggests hiring a CTO.
A permanent CTO is a significant commitment: cost, seniority, and a hiring process that will take months you probably do not have. Before starting it, it is worth being honest about the problem. If the issue is that nobody owns the technical direction, a fractional arrangement fixes it in weeks. If the issue is that you have three developers and no delivery discipline, you may need a lead, not a chief.
A Fractional CTO earns their keep in three places. Direction: one roadmap that reflects commercial priorities rather than the loudest technical opinion. Accountability: someone who owns supplier performance, spend and risk. Translation: technology explained to the board in terms of money, time and exposure.
The failure mode is treating it as advisory. If the arrangement produces documents and no decisions, it is not working. A fractional engagement should look like leadership at a lower frequency, not consultancy with a new label.
And sometimes the right answer is that you need less technology, not more of it. That conversation is cheaper to have before the hire than after.